Play Time
by JLCHailstorm71
Summary: After an exciting and drama-filled beginning to Sachiko's Hysteric Birthday, she gathers several students who have experience in drama club to perform a play for everyone in Heavenly Host. Surely, things couldn't go awry, could they? Set in the same universe as The Tenth Shadow & Seven Sachiko Challenges. One shot story.


DISCLAIMER: CORPSE PARTY AND ITS CHARACTERS ARE OWNED BY TEAM GRISGRIS/GRINDHOUSE. **_MY ORIGINAL CHARACTER, PACKER, IS OWNED BY ME._**

 **Author's Note:** As you have no doubt noticed, I have separated several of what was once 'Hysteric Birthday Chronicles, now Seven Sachiko Challenges' chapters into their own one shot stories, because 1. I want Sachiko's challenges to be the main centerpiece of the story, and 2. These former chapters are long enough to stand on their own. I will also denote in each of these stories and in every chapter of Seven Sachiko Challenges when these events take place in the grand scheme of things, since they still revolve around each other.

This story takes place after Chapter 1 of Seven Sachiko Challenges.

* * *

 ** _ONE SHOT STORY: PLAY TIME_**

After whisking away those that would not be participating in the first event, Sachiko stared down at the remaining students that would be participating, those being Yoshiki, Morishige, Mayu, Nana, Chihaya, Nari, Azusa and Ran.

" **Well, it looks like everyone is here. Let's get started with our first ever of our Culture Festival!"** Sachiko exclaimed happily.

" **What are you gonna make us do this time?"** Yoshiki inquired. Sachiko let out a small giggle.

" **Well, truth is, after looking at the students that were here, I noticed that there many drama club students,"** she explained. **"And so, everyone here is going to do a play with me."**

" **A play, huh?"** Morishige mumbled.

" **Everyone here is in a drama club?"** Mayu asked.

" **Oh, yeah,"** Nana replied. **"Myself, Chihaya-Chan and Nari-Chan are in the same drama club."**

" **Yeah, but we're still in our first year, so we really haven't learned all that much aside from the basics,"** Nari said.

" **In my case, I haven't even acted once, let alone the basics of acting,"** Yoshiki retorted.

" **I'm the same as Knight-Kun,"** Azusa replied. Yoshiki glared at the blonde-haired girl.

" **Damn it, stop with that name already,"** he complained. Mayu arched an eyebrow in confusion.

" **Knight… kun?"** she said with confusion.

" **Because he's** ** _Kishi-_** **numa-Kun,"** Azusa explained, emphasizing the phrase 'Kishi' in Yoshiki's last name, which means 'knight' in Japanese. **"Lovely, isn't it?"**

" **Quite romantic if you ask me,"** Morishige said with a chuckle, before glancing at Azusa's uniform and recognizing it. **"Hey, your uniform… That's the St. Cruz Girls' High School uniform, isn't it? It's rather interesting to know that Kishinuma knows people like this."**

" **Yeah, it is kind of interesting,"** Yoshiki replied. **"But you say I know them… but my memory is kind of hazy, although I have a feeling I've met them in this school somewhere at some point. I can't remember where or when, though."**

" **St. Cruz?!"** Nana exclaimed. **"Isn't that the missionary school that's famous for their drama club? Awesome!"** Nari and Chihaya also let out surprised gasps themselves. Azusa giggled in response.

" **Thanks! Everyone is so cute!"** she replied. **"Makes me want to cuddle you all."**

This, of course, did not sit well with Ran.

" **Wife!"** Ran complained. **"You're providing too much service hugging people besides me! Not good! Not good!"**

" **Okay, everyone! Quiet down now,"** Sachiko commanded, clapping her hands together to get everyone's attention. Yoshikazu growled and slammed the butt of the sledgehammer against the floor several times, causing everyone to gasp in surprise.

" **Hey! Stop going crazy!"** Yoshiki shouted.

" **Hey, you big dumb! You quiet down, too!"** Sachiko commanded. Yoshikazu gasped in surprise, before letting out a sad moan.

" **I guess he's only obedient to Sachiko,"** Yoshiki observed.

" **Yeah,"** Morishige agreed. **"Not sure why, but maybe he's being blackmailed in some way?"**

Sachiko dropped down from the podium and walked toward the group.

" **It seems there are a few people who aren't drama club members,"** she said. **"But, I decided to add Kishinuma in because his reactions to everything are funny to watch."** She beamed up at Yoshiki. **"Let's go, reaction comedian!"**

Yoshiki growled down at the little girl in response, his face twisted in anger.

" **Who are you calling a reaction comedian?!"** he yelled.

" **Azusa and Ran are kind of in the same boat,"** Sachiko continued.

" **I'm in the comedian genre with Knight-Kun?"** Azusa said with despair. **"Unthinkable…"**

" **I told you, I'm not a comedian!"** Yoshiki roared. He placed his hand on his forehead, as if he had a headache. **"Geez, I can't stand this. I'm gonna drop out of this play thing."**

" **I agree,"** Morishige agreed. **"Sorry, but I'm gonna drop out, too."**

" **Ooohhh… you sure you want to do something like that?"** Sachiko warned.

" **Huh? What do you mean?"** Yoshiki inquired. Sachiko stretched both sides of her lips to the edge of her face in a huge, twisted smile as she pulled out a gas burner from out of nowhere. She let out an evil sounding giggle as she presented it to Yoshiki.

" **What are you thinking, pulling out something like that…?"** Yoshiki began, before suddenly stopping midsentence, as the visual of the gas burner ignited something in his memory. _'Wait, I remember seeing that gas burner somewhere… but where? That's right… it was that time we were attacked… by that mannequin…'_

* * *

 ** _BACK IN THE SCIENCE LAB IN A PREVIOUS TIME LOOP…_**

The anatomical model let out another howl as it stomped toward Yoshiki. Yoshiki looked around for something to fight back with. His eyes settled upon one of the heavy tables, where he spied upon something that might give him a chance.

" **The gas burner… That's it!"** he shouted. Thinking fast, he ripped the gas line from the burner, grabbed a long-handle lighter and pointed it at the model. **"Eat THIS!"**

The model gasped as the gas erupted, turning the ruptured line into a makeshift flamethrower. The model howled as it was consumed by the flames. It collapsed to the ground as the sheet covering it was burned away.

Yoshiki turned the gas off, and once the fire was out, ran by the burning model and rushed over to where Ayumi was. He tried to lift the table off of Ayumi's leg, but the table was still too heavy.

" **Morishige, give me a hand here!"** he yelled over. Morishige nodded and rushed over to Yoshiki and Ayumi. Together, they were able to lift the table off of Ayumi's leg, allowing her to free herself. Once she was out, they let the table crash back to the ground.

Yoshiki sat down on the ground, completely exhausted. He glanced over at Ayumi, who was inspecting her leg. A bruise was forming near her shin, but she didn't look seriously injured.

" **You okay, Shinozaki?"** Yoshiki asked worriedly. Ayumi glared up at him, causing him to gulp in response. She crawled over to him and began beating on his chest with her fist.

" **You jerk, you dumbass!"** she shouted, continuing to hit him over and over.

" **Shinozaki… glad to see you're still in one piece,"** Yoshiki murmured softly.

" **You… stupid… Ugh! I hate you so much!"** Ayumi yelled, tears streaming down her face.

" **I'm sorry, Shinozaki,"** Yoshiki apologized. Then, to his surprise, Ayumi wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest, sobbing loudly. Yoshiki's face felt like it was on fire. Whether it was from the beating he just took or from the feeling of Ayumi in his arms, he couldn't tell. Smiling softly, he slowly wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in close for a much-needed hug as she continued to sob into his chest.

" **Sounds like a happy cry to me. Guess that means you're okay,"** Yoshiki said.

" **Don't die!"** Ayumi cried. **"Please don't die, Yoshiki-kun!"**

" **Alright, I won't…"** Yoshiki began, before he realized with a start that Ayumi had used his first name. **"Wait… Y-You called me by my first name…"**

Ayumi slowly looked up into his eyes, eyes red with tears, but she had a small smile on her face.

" **Yeah, I guess I did,"** she chuckled softly, causing Yoshiki to do the same, albeit with a red face. Morishige cleared his throat, causing the both of them to look up at him.

" **I really do hate to break this up, but I think it's time we headed back. The others are probably waiting for us,"** he said. Ayumi and Yoshiki glanced at each other before Ayumi got off of him. Dusting herself off, she offered a hand to Yoshiki, to which he accepted. Together, they walked back over to the rest of the group.

" **Kishinuma, are you alright?"** Yui asked worriedly. Yoshiki nodded.

" **I'm okay. Just a scratch,"** he replied. **"Packer can heal it when we rendezvous with him and the others."**

" **Then we should make our way back there quickly,"** Naho remarked, opening the door. But as they were about to leave, Mayu looked past Ayumi and Yoshiki and screeched in horror.

" _ **LOOK OUT!"**_ she screamed. Yoshiki looked over his shoulder and gasped in horror. The anatomical model, which was still on fire and somehow still alive, had made it back to its feet and was rushing toward Ayumi and Yoshiki. Thinking fast, Yoshiki pushed Ayumi out of the way, but was not fast enough for his own sake. The model grabbed Yoshiki, draping itself over his back. Yoshiki's eyes widened as the intense heat from the flames could be felt burning through his school uniform.

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!"**_ he screamed in pain as he could begin to feel the flames burning the skin all over his back. He stumbled toward the middle of the room, trying to shake the model off of him, but the model held tight, intent on bringing Yoshiki down with it. Ayumi watched in horror as Yoshiki was slowly beginning to burn to death.

" _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_ Ayumi screamed.

* * *

 _ **BACK IN THE PRESENT…**_

Yoshiki screamed as the memory of that day came back in full force, and it felt like the flames were real and causing him great pain at that very moment. Morishige and Mayu let out a gasp of surprise.

" **What's wrong, Kishinuma-kun?!"** Mayu shouted. Yoshiki continued to hold his head in pain as the memories continued to flood through his mind.

" **Sachiko, stop!"** Yoshiki shouted. **"Please stop! Okay, I'll do it! I'll do it, just stop! Please!"**

" **Yaaaaay!"** Sachiko screams in delight as she throws away the gas burner and proceeds to show her excitement in a child-like manner. Yoshiki's face was streaming with sweat, and he let out several ragged gasps as the memories finally subsided.

" **I didn't think that the memory of your death… would be something this excruciating,"** Yoshiki said to himself, before thinking about what he had just said. **"Wait, hold on. The memory of my death? But I'm alive, aren't I? And if I recall, Naho and then Packer saved me that day, so what was that vision I had just then?"**

Morishige walked up and placed a hand on Yoshiki's shoulder, a worried look on his face.

" **Kishinuma, you alright?"** the cobalt-haired young man asked. Yoshiki looked back and nodded slowly.

" **Y-Yeah, I'm fine,"** Yoshiki replied. **"It seems my memories are a bit screwed up, though."**

" **Oh, by the way,"** Sachiko interjected. **"The audience will be everybody else who isn't here right now."**

" **But… that means Satoshi, Packer, and Shinozaki are gonna come?"** Yoshiki asked, before letting out a small sigh. **"You've got to be joking…"**

" **I can even go and call the spirits of Heavenly Host Elementary as well, if you like?"** Sachiko continued.

" **No freaking way!"** Yoshiki yelled.

" **Awww, you're boring!"** Sachiko complained with a pout on her face. Nana, Nari, and Chihaya gathered around to talk about the current situation.

" **To think that we would do a play in a place like this,"** Nana said.

" **Well, not much we can do about it now, huh?"** Nari replied.

" **I don't exactly want to, but if you guys are going to do it, then so will I,"** Chihaya declared. Azusa let out a small giggle.

" **To do something like this with everyone is some kind of destiny,"** she said with a smile. **"If we're gonna do it, we might as well enjoy ourselves."**

" **If the wife is gonna do it, then there's no way that I won't be a part of this as well!"** Ran declared happily.

Morishige let out a small sigh as Mayu walked up to him, a slight blush on her face.

" **Shige-nii, it might be fun if you give it a try, you know?"** Mayu said. **"Come on! Let's do it together!"**

As Mayu smiles pleadingly, Morishige lets out another small sigh.

" **Well, I guess it can't be helped,"** he resigned. **"If Mayu is saying so that much, then I'll do it as well."**

" **Yay! I get to act with Shige-nii!"** Mayu beamed happily.

" **Mayu-san certainly seems happy,"** Nana observed. Nari glanced at Morishige with a knowing smile.

" **Morishige-san, you're rather close to Mayu-san,"** she said. **"Are you two perhaps going out?"**

At Nari's inquiry, Morishige's face turned bright red.

" **I-It's not like that!"** he replied hurriedly, before calming down and explaining his position. **"Well, I am kind of worried when Mayu goes off and does something without me, but…"**

" **My, my, he's saying such things…"** Azusa began.

" **But I wonder what he really means?"** Ran finished with a rhyme and giggle. Of course, this only made the blush on Morishige's face deepen in color.

" **W-What do you mean?"** Morishige asked, stumbling over his words.

" **Don't mind us, please,"** Azusa responded with a giggle. Yoshiki let out an irritated sigh.

" **Whatever, but can we just get this play crap out of the way before I can't care anymore, please?"** Yoshiki complained. Morishige shook his head in response.

" **No. No matter how out of hand it may be, a play is a play, and I have no intention of half-assing this,"** Morishige replied. **"If I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna put 120% effort into it."**

" **What are you getting so serious about, dude?"** Yoshiki inquired.

" **I think it's pretty cool,"** Azusa interjected. **"A big difference from some Knight-kun."**

" **Hey,"** Yoshiki gruffed, crossing his arms with a scowl on his face. **"That use of 'some' isn't hiding the fact that it's me you're referring to."**

" **Wife, cheating is bad, okay?"** Ran scolded.

" **I think it's only right to say something is cool to something that is cool,"** Azusa replied.

" **Touché!"** Ran exclaimed.

" **Yeah…"** Nana mumbled to herself. **"When Morishige-san is so into his acting and everything, it is kind of cool."**

Nari glanced over at Nana with a knowing smile on her face.

" **Ooohhh, Nana,"** Nari said. **"Don't tell me you're…"**

" **Nana-Chan?! Really?!"** Chihaya exclaimed. Nana's face turned beet red when she noticed that her friends had been listening in.

" **What?!"** she shouted. **"N-No! I'm just…"**

Meanwhile, Mayu was staring at Morishige with a slight scowl on her face, which Morishige took notice of.

" **What's wrong, Mayu? Something on your mind?"** he asked.

" **N-None of your business!"** Mayu exclaimed, causing Morishige to arch an eyebrow in confusion.

" **Oh? Okay, then,"** Morishige replied, his confusion deepening. Mayu closed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

" **So dense…"** she mumbled to herself.

Yoshiki let out a defeated sigh, catching Sachiko's attention.

" **Kishinuma, you look so unmotivated,"** Sachiko observed.

" **Well, you forced me to relive painful memories, and now you're forcing me do this play, not to mention we're trying to do a play in a time and place like this,"** Yoshiki replied. **"How can I possibly get motivated?"**

" **Kishinuma-kun, Kishinuma-kun,"** Mayu whispered, catching Yoshiki's attention. He noticed Mayu waving him over. He walked over to her, hands in his jacket pockets.

" **What is it, Suzumoto?"** he inquired.

" **You know that Shinozaki-san is part of the audience, right?"** Mayu asked. Yoshiki let out a long sigh.

" **Yeah, I know,"** he answered. **"That's what I hate the most about this right now."**

" **Well, here's the thing,"** Mayu retorted. **"If you show her your cool self up on that stage, she might change the way she sees you!"**

Yoshiki let out a hopeful gasp at Mayu's words.

" **Really?!"** he exclaimed, before a wide smile appeared on his face, his confidence getting a huge burst. **"Alright! If we're gonna do this, we might as well enjoy doing it!"**

Mayu let out a small giggle at Yoshiki's confidence.

" **You're so simple, Kishinuma-kun,"** she giggled softly to herself.

" **Well, that was obvious,"** Azusa observed.

" **It's love,"** Ran said in a sing-song voice. Yoshiki glanced over at them with an annoyed look.

" **W-What the Hell!"** he shouted. **"Stop talking all secretively! Jeez, I find these girls difficult to handle sometimes."**

" **Now, now, enough with the chit-chat everyone,"** Sachiko commanded. **"Let's begin the play already."**

" **Before that, may I?"** Morishige asked.

" **What?"** Sachiko inquired.

" **To begin a play, a script of some sort is needed,"** Morishige explained. **"But, have you got something like that prepared at all?"**

Sachiko let out a small giggle.

" **Don't underestimate me,"** she answered, before glancing over at Yoshikazu. **"Oy, you big dumb! Go get the scripts!"**

Yoshikazu moaned in affirmation. Following Sachiko's orders, he clumsily turns around and leaves the auditorium.

" **Where did that monster go to…?"** Yoshiki asked.

" **To get the scripts, of course!"** Sachiko beamed.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Infirmary, the rest of the students were waiting to be called back to the auditorium for the play. Yoshie was helping everyone feel at home, for the most part, as each of the students had broken off into the schools they came from and were having lively conversations.

Seiko let out a sigh as she gazed over at the sleeping form of Naomi. After talking with Seiko for a bit, Naomi decided to take a small nap while they were waiting, which left Seiko with nothing to do. Sighing with boredom, she glanced over at Packer, who was leaning against the wall next to the door. He had detransformed and was back in his Kisaragi uniform once again, knowing he wouldn't need his powers again until Sachiko gave him his second challenge, which could come at any time.

A small grin appeared on Seiko's face, as she stood up from her spot on one of the beds and walked over to where Packer was.

" **Hey, Packer-kun. Whatcha doing?"** she asked innocently. Packer glanced up at her, giving her a small smile.

" **Nothing. Just thinking,"** Packer answered with a sigh. **"I am feeling kind of bored, though."**

" **Well…"** Seiko began, interlacing her fingers with Packer's, a seductive look in her eyes. **"What do you say we get out of this Infirmary and have some… 'alone' time to ourselves?"**

Packer's cheeks flared red at Seiko's request, but his smile widened as well.

" **Sounds good to me,"** Packer replied, as he led Seiko out of the Infirmary.

Walking down the hallway a bit, they came across what appeared to be a broom closet. Not wasting any time, Seiko opened the door and dragged Packer in, quickly closing the door behind them. The small room was bathed in darkness, though.

" **Damn, it's so dark, I can't see a thing,"** Seiko surmised.

" **Hang on,"** Packer said. A glass dagger appeared in his hand, and he stuck it to the wall above them. Instantly, it began emitting a bright light, lighting up the small room. There were a few rotting brooms in the room, but not much else.

" **There, that should light things up,"** Packer said.

" **Yep,"** Seiko agreed with a small giggle.

" **So… yeah, I've never really done this sort of thing before, so…"** Packer began, but as he spoke, he felt Seiko move closer and put her arms around his neck.

His heart was thumping wildly now, and he was certain his cheeks were a deep crimson.

 **"Seiko…"** he started to say.

 **"Yes?"** Seiko replied as she looked up and stared into his eyes with longing.

 _ **(Hysteric Birthday's Oozing with Sex Appeal begins playing in the background)**_

As if he were under a spell cast by her lovely amber eyes, Packer bent his head down and placed his lips on hers. Gently, he embraced her and felt her pressing herself against him. Feeling her soft curves against his hard form, he groaned and deepened the kiss. He wanted to go slow, but she tasted so sweet that he kissed her hungrily as if she were a rich dessert. A stirring began within him as her tongue swirled around his.

Packer felt Seiko link her leg around his and move against him, pushing him against the wall. Groaning softly, she kissed him more as he moved his hands down her back until he reached the hem of her short, flowing skirt. Sliding his hands underneath the garment, he caressed her buttocks through her silky panties, causing her to moan in his mouth. Then he gave her cheeks a firm, but gentle squeeze, causing her to squeal a bit and break the kiss. She gazed up at him with a seductive, cat-like grin on her face.

" **Well, I didn't know you were so frisky, Packer-kun,"** Seiko purred. **"I also didn't know that you liked grabbing my butt so much."**

" **Yeah, well…"** Packer began, his breathing heavy and face red with embarrassment at her inquiry. Seiko tilted her head sideways as he stumbled over his words.

" **Well, what?"** Seiko asked.

" **Well… your butt does look nice, and we might not get this chance again, so I figured, why the hell not?"** Packer admitted. He then looked up at her with a worried expression. **"Does it bother you?"**

" **Bother me?"** Seiko repeated, confused. **"Honestly, I think it's kind of… sexy that you feel that way. And I like the way your hands feel. So don't worry, Packer-kun."**

" **O-Okay,"** Packer replied nervously, causing Seiko to giggle in response. She knew he was only being cautious with her, and didn't want to put her in an uncomfortable situation. But if anything, his repeated administrations only made the fire within her burn even hotter. She pushed him against the wall and brought her face up to his.

" **Now, where were we?"** Seiko asked seductively. **"Oh, that's right. Right about… here."**

She pressed her lips hard against Packer's, who returned the kiss in full force. But before they could get any further, they heard the door to the broom closet slowly creak open. Breaking the kiss, they turned their heads toward the door, and Seiko let out a screech upon what was gazing at them. Standing in the doorway, holding a stack of papers, was Yoshikazu, who had a confused look on his face as he observed Seiko holding onto Packer so suggestively. Apparently, he had heard them out in the hallway and decided to investigate.

Packer let out a slightly annoyed sigh as he gave a sideways glance to the tall brute.

" **Yoshikazu, do you mind? We're having a moment here,"** Packer said nonchalantly. Yoshikazu let out an apologetic moan as he moved back from the doorway.

" **SSSSSSSSoooooorrrryyyyy…."** Yoshikazu moaned slowly as he closed the door to the broom closet. Packer let out a small sigh as he returned his gaze to his beautiful girlfriend, who set her gaze back on him as well.

" **Well, that was certainly unexpected,"** Seiko laughed.

" **Indeed,"** Packer agreed. **"Shall we… continue?"**

" **Absolutely,"** Seiko replied, locking her lips onto Packer's once again.

Meanwhile, back in the Infirmary, Naomi sat up and yawned as she woke up from her nap. She glanced around and noticed that Seiko was nowhere to be found.

" **Hey, Satoshi. Where's Seiko?"** she asked, glancing over at Satoshi, who shrugged.

" **I don't know,"** he replied. **"I don't see Packer here, either. I wonder where they disappeared to?"**

A knowing look appeared on Naomi's face as she put two and two together.

" **Oh, I'd say they're enjoying the time they're having to themselves,"** Naomi giggled.

* * *

After a few minutes, Yoshikazu returned to the auditorium with the stack of papers in his hands. He lets out a confident moan as he hands the papers off to Sachiko.

" **Huh? Is this… a pile of papers?"** Yoshiki asked. Sachiko sorted through them and began handing them out to Yoshiki and the others.

" **I've prepared a few different scripts,"** Sachiko declared. **"It was hard to decide which was going to be fit for this play."**

" **Scripts that Sachiko-san prepared, huh?"** Mayu admired.

" **I've got a bad feeling about these,"** Morishige moaned.

" **Alright, let's choose one and see what it's like,"** Sachiko said.

After looking through the available options, Yoshiki pointed one out.

" **Well, let's begin with this,"** he said, holding up the script.

" _ **Romeo and Juliet**_ **, huh? It's the standard, I guess,"** Morishige replied.

" **Yeah,"** Sachiko agreed. **"I wanted to do a romantic story before, so I recommend this one, too."** Mayu giggled in response.

" **Wow, wanting to do a romance story… Sachiko-san is a girl after all, huh?"** Mayu observed.

" **Come on. Don't girl talk with an evil spirit,"** Yoshiki warned, crossing his arms.

" **Hey! No more 'evil' or 'spirit' talk!"** Mayu scolded.

" **Well, let's give it a read,"** Morishige said.

Morishige began to read the script.

* * *

 _The characters you see here are all fictitious. Thank you for your understanding._

 _The Italian town of Verona… there, two households: Montegue and Capulet, were in a constant feud day in and day out._

 _ **Romeo (Morishige): I am Romeo of the Montegue family. Today, I am being dragged around by my friends Benvoleo and Mercutio, and have snuck into the Capulet household's party. However, if they find out that I am Romeo of the Montague family, I'll be in big trouble… My, my, what is that?!**_

 _Romeo walks up to a beautiful young lady._

 _ **Romeo: What beauty! Who is this majestic female?! One look and I was all yours. May I perhaps ask for your name?**_

 _ **Juliet (Sachiko): I am Juliet of the Capulet family.**_

* * *

" **Oy, Morishige,"** Yoshiki interrupted. **"Isn't this relationship kind of bad? I mean, it's with an elementary schooler, not to mention an evil spirit."**

" **In acting, there are no age or gender barriers,"** Morishige replied. **"Don't bring such stupidity into this. As of now, we are two lovers intertwined in a complicated situation; Romeo and Juliet. Don't interfere."**

" **You say that, but…"** Yoshiki began, before shaking his head in disgust. **"You know what? Whatever. Have it your way."**

Clearing his throat, Morishige returned his attention to the script.

* * *

 _ **Romeo: Oh, beautiful Juliet… That dark black hair and that crimson dress! It's like a crimson rose that has been illuminated by the moon! May I ask your hand, in a dance?**_

 _ **Juliet: With pleasure.**_

" **Hm, the story seems pretty simple,"** Yoshiki observed. **"Sachiko seems to be taking a liking to it, too, so we might as well stick with this."**

" **Yeah,"** Morishige agreed. **"I was a little worried knowing that Sachiko prepared this, but let's go all the way through it… just to be sure."**

Adjusting his glasses, Morishige continued to read the script.

 _And thus, the story continued._

 _Wanting to be with her love forever, Juliet drinks a drug that temporarily stops her hear. However, Romeo believed that Juliet had really taken her own life._

 _ **Romeo: Oh, Juliet! Why has this happened?! Juliet! I will drink this poison, and follow your ways!**_

" **That's right,"** Nana said. **"Here, Romeo goes after Juliet and commits suicide."**

" **After that,"** Nari continued. **"Juliet wakes up to find her Romeo dead, and with such shock and sadness, she also takes her own life."**

" **How sorrowful…"** Chihaya replies sadly.

 _ **Romeo: Juliet… without you, I have no reason to continue my life. I will die, too…**_

 _Romeo stabs a knife into his heart, and dies within moments…_

" **What?! Wasn't it poison?"** Nana exclaimed.

 _A few hours later, Juliet wakes up to find that lying next to her was the cold, lifeless body of her love, Romeo._

 _ **Juliet: (evil laugh) All according to plan! I have now ceased the Montague bloodline! This town is now the Capulet's property! (evil laugh)**_

* * *

" **What?!"** Morishige shouted. **"This isn't Romeo and Juliet at all!"**

" **The romantic tragedy story is totally ruined,"** Ran said.

" **That's what's good!"** Sachiko beamed. **"We shouldn't be kept back by the old ideas! This is the new Romeo and Juliet!"**

" **Uh… yeah,"** Yoshiki replied, face palming in response. **"Let's do another script."** Sachiko moaned with disappointment.

" **I thought it was fun…"** she groaned.

Yoshiki flipped through the remaining scripts, stopping when he reached one that resembled something in the horror genre.

" **This is… horror, isn't it?"** Yoshiki asked. Morishige glanced up, a worried expression on his features.

" **Let's not. I've only got a bad feeling about it,"** he replied. Sachiko stared at him with a blank expression.

" **Whaaaat?"** she said. **"I recommend this one too, though. You're not even gonna read it?"** Her expression turned angry. **"I could just kill you all and be done with it…"**

" **Alright, alright, we'll read it! Damn…"** Yoshiki exclaimed as he read the script. **"The title is 'The Toilet Spirit, Sachiko'… Oh, boy…"** He continued to read past the title. **"One day, there was a rumor going around the female students that a ghost appears in the toilets."** Then, the light bulb went off in Yoshiki's head. **"Oh, it's just a simple 'Toilet Ghost Hanako-san remake, huh?"** He begins reading further into the script.

* * *

 _ **Nana: And, on the third floor girls' bathroom, if you knock on the third toilet standing closest to the door three times, you can hear a knock in response. And if you open the door, a girl in a red dress drags you down the toilet! Today, we're gonna put that horror story to the test.**_

 _ **Chihaya: Nana-Chan, what if we really do get dragged into the toilet? Let's stop this, it's too dangerous!**_

 _ **Nari: Chihaya, no need to get so scared. It's probably just some stupid urban myth, anyway.**_

 _ **Nana: Then let's give it a go. Starting from the closest stall.**_

 _Nana begins knocking on the door. After three knocks, the door suddenly opens and…_

 _ **Shimoda, the Gentleman Ghost: Don't open iiiiiiittttttt!**_

* * *

" **Who the fuck is that?!"** Yoshiki shouted. Sachiko snickers in response.

" **It's the special guest; Shimoda, the Mysterious Gentlemen Ghost,"** Sachiko explained.

" **So where did the 'Sachiko-san' in the title go to?"** Morishige inquired.

" **Don't worry. This is where the real deal begins,"** Sachiko answered.

* * *

 _ **Shimoda: What? 'The Toilet Spirit Sachiko'? I see now. If you want to see Sachiko-san, then do this.**_

 _Shimoda presents to them a paper doll._

 _ **Nana: This is… a paper doll?**_

 _ **Shimoda: Indeed. With this 'Sachiko Doll', everybody grabs the doll and pulls at the same time while chanting 'Sachiko, we beg of you' a number of times. Then, you go to a place called Heavenly Host Elementary and…**_

* * *

" **Dammit, I knew we were gonna end up here!"** Yoshiki shouted.

" **After that, the horrors of Heavenly Host Elementary begin and…"** Sachiko began, but was cut off by Yoshiki.

" **Stop it right there!"** he roared. **"This is nothing more than an attempt at digging out our past traumas!"**

" **Geez, you're so rock-headed, Kishinuma,"** Sachiko complained.

" **You're right, and I'm Goddamn proud of it!"** Yoshiki answered. **"No way am I going through that shit again! Just choose a different script! Actually,** _ **PLEASE**_ **choose a different script!"**

Letting out a small sigh, Sachiko flipped through the remaining scripts and chose one that looked appealing to her.

" **What about this one?"** Sachiko asked, handing the script to Yoshiki, who arched an eyebrow.

" **A superhero ranger one? There's even something like this?"** Yoshiki asked. Azusa chuckled.

" **Choosing something like that for a script,"** she surmised. **"Knight-kun is rather a child at heart, it seems."**

" **Hey, it's nothing like that!"** Yoshiki shouted defensively. **"Besides, Sachiko chose it, not me!"**

" **In any case, let's read over it,"** Mayu replied. Yoshiki sighed and began pouring over the contents of the script.

* * *

 _The characters you see here are all fictitious. Thank you for your understanding._

 _The end of the century… right now, Japan is being taken over by a secret organization plotting to take over the world. Trapped in despair, the good people of Japan called on the legendary 'Fighters of Heavenly Host Elementary'!_

 _ **Sachiko: Heavenly Host Elementary Red, Shinozaki Sachiko, ready for action!**_

 _ **Yoshikazu: ROOOOOARR! (Heavenly Host Elementary Red, Yanagihori Yoshikazu!)**_

 _ **Yuki: Heavenly Host Elementary Red, Kanno Yuki!**_

 _ **Tokiko: *mumbles* (Heavenly Host Elementary Red, Tsuji Tokiko!)**_

 _ **Ryou: Heavenly Host Elementary Red, Yoshizawa Ryou!**_

 _ **Sachiko: The five of us together are… Heavenly Host's greatest fighters… the Dead Rangers!**_

* * *

Everyone glanced at each other with dumbfounded looks on their faces.

" **That's freaking creepy!"** Yoshiki exclaimed. **"And you call yourselves fighters against evil, but you're all dead ghosts!"**

" **I agree,"** Morishige interjected. **"To begin with, why is everyone red? Aren't those kinds of rangers supposed to be different colors?"**

" **Well, everyone is covered on blood, so it looks like they're all red,"** Sachiko replied matter-of-factly.

" **The kids will bawl their eyes out!"** Yoshiki shouted, before stopping and taking a deep breath. **"Well, whatever. I can't even imagine you guys saving the day anyway. Let's see if there's a different script."**

Yoshiki shuffled through the scripts until he found one that caught his eye.

" **How's this one?"** he asked, holding it up and looking at the title. **"It's called 'Princess Kaguya'."**

" **Well, the source is from a fairy tale, after all,"** Morishige explained. **"I'm sure nothing will go wrong, but… well, it is something that Sachiko prepared, so it's best to expect anything."**

" **Indeed,"** Yoshiki agreed. **"Anyways, let's go over it."**

They began pouring over the contents of the script.

* * *

 _The characters you see here are all fictitious. Thank you for your understanding._

 _Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man spent his days selling the bamboo that he had gathered from the mountains, barely living off the dirty profit he made._

" **I somehow sense that this explanation is giving us a bad impression on the character,"** Yoshiki pointed out. Morishige nods in affirmation.

 _One day, as the old man was metaphorically whipping his old body up the ruthless mountain, he spotted a shiny golden bamboo blade._

 _ **Old Man (Morishige): Oh, my… What is this?! It's a golden bamboo blade! I guess I'll sell this to the richest man in the village, and then I'll… (manic laugh)**_

" **Hey, this old man is starting to look like a bad person!"** Yoshiki shouted.

" **It's that popular 'badass' personality thing, probably,"** Ran replied.

" **Ran, I think that's a little off…"** Azusa retorted.

 _ **Old Man: Then, let's go and exchange this thing for quick cash!**_

 _However, as the old man cut open the bamboo blade, out popped a cute little girl the size of a palm._

 _ **Princess Kaguya (Sachiko): Nice to meet you. I'm Princess Kaguya.**_

 _ **Old Man: The bamboo born Sachi… I mean, Kaguya princess, huh? I guess strange things so happen! I'll take her home and show my wife.**_

 _As the old man took her home, the old woman expressed her surprise._

 _ **Old Woman (Mayu): My, oh my… What a cute little girl. She's almost like a doll. Let's raise her in this household.**_

 _ **Princess Kaguya: Okay, you can do that. I'll let you raise me.**_

 _ **Old Man: This girl is rather condescending…**_

 _Sachiko… I mean, Princess Kaguya grew at immense speed in the old folks' household, and in just under three months, she had become a beautifully grown lady. Soon, the five princes of the town began to realize Princess Kaguya's beauty and began to crowd around her like a bunch of hyenas._

 _ **Prince 1 (Yoshiki): Princess Kaguya, please marry me.**_

 _ **Prince 2 (Nana): Princess Kaguya, please marry me.**_

 _ **Prince 3 (Nari): Princess Kaguya, please marry me.**_

 _ **Prince 4 (Chihaya): Princess Kaguya, please marry me.**_

 _ **Prince 5 (Azusa): Princess Kaguya, please marry me.**_

" **Wife! How dare you lay your hands on another woman when you have me!"** Ran roared.

" **Ran, this is within the play, remember?"** Azusa reminded her.

" **Oh… right,"** Ran said with an embarrassed chuckle. **"Phew… thank God…"**

 _Princess Kaguya asked the five princes, who were constantly asking for her hand in marriage, to bring her a 'certain object'. That certain object was…_

 _ **Princess Kaguya: You bring me a 'plank of wood', you bring me a 'candle', you bring me a 'cultural doll', you bring me a 'doll of a cat', and you bring me a 'rusted handle'. They're all in Heavenly Host Elementary, so good luck!**_

* * *

" **A plank of wood and a cultural doll,"** Yoshiki mumbled, before glaring at Sachiko. **"Wait, you're telling us to go look for those?!"**

" **Everyone is gonna die!"** Morishige exclaimed.

" **Well, if you want to win over my love, you have to at least do that,"** Sachiko said.

" **Damn it, I can't disagree with you on that…"** Yoshiki mumbled.

" **And afterwards, the princes fly to Heavenly Host Elementary to win over the princess' love!"** Sachiko continued. **"There, they commence the bloody…"**

" **Stop! I don't want to hear it!"** Yoshiki yelled. Sachiko pouted at him.

" **Geez! All you and Morishige do is complain,"** she moaned.

" **Yeah, well, it's not our fault these scripts suck ass,"** Yoshiki retorted.

" **Let's choose a different script,"** Morishige suggested. But after sorting through the rest of the scripts, Yoshiki growled and threw them across the room, scattering the papers everywhere.

" **Why did you do that, Kishinuma-kun?"** Mayu asked.

" **Because not a single Goddamn one of those scripts was any good,"** Yoshiki replied.

" **Can't argue that point,"** Morishige agreed. **"By the way, who even wrote these scripts, anyway?"** Sachiko let out a small giggle.

" **You want to know?"** she inquired, before glancing over at Yoshikazu. **"Hey, you big dumb, bring forth the script writer."**

Moaning and nodding, Yoshikazu left the auditorium. Soon, he returns with a familiar face… Kizami, who walked up to the group.

" **This is the script writer, Kizami,"** Sachiko explained. Yoshiki crossed his arms and gazed at Kizami.

" **Kizami, huh?"** he mumbled. **"Damn, he's big…"**

" **I'm Kizami Yuuya, 2** **nd** **year at Byakudan Academy,"** Kizami introduced himself.

" **Oh, um… I'm Kishinuma Yoshiki, 2** **nd** **year at Kisaragi Academy,"** Yoshiki did likewise, before stopping himself. **"I mean, wait! None of those scripts you wrote are anything but sane! They're all dark and twisted. Why don't you try writing something normal?"** Kizami laughs a bit evilly.

" **A life that ends in a glimmering shine!"** Kizami replied. **"Yes! That's what I want to see!"**

" **I don't care!"** Yoshiki shouted. **"Make a proper story!"**

" **I'm afraid I have to agree with Kishinuma here,"** Sachiko explained. **"Today is my birthday, so I want to have a story that is fun! So, I'm sorry to say this, Kizami, but I am kicking you out!"**

Sachiko nods at Yoshikazu, who roars and grabs Kizami's collar from behind and slowly drags him out of the auditorium.

" **Damn it! Let go of me, you monster!"** Kizami shouted as he was dragged out the door.

" **Geez, that guy was a nutcase…"** Yoshiki muttered.

" **Alright, let's try this again,"** Sachiko said.

" **Probably better to rewrite a new script,"** Morishige interjected. **"Mayu, can you do that?"**

" **Certainly,"** Mayu replied.

" **Then I'll leave it to you,"** Morishige said. **"All that's left is the story…"**

As the group ponders what the story should be about, Yoshiki grabbed Mayu and Morishige's arm and dragged them away from Sachiko to where they could chat in private.

" **Morishige, Sachiko keeps looking at us,"** Yoshiki whispered. **"Maybe she wants us to hear her story idea or something."**

" **Yeah, maybe,"** Morishige agreed. They all looked back to see Sachiko smiling at them.

" **There's no denying it, dude! Her eyes say everything!"** Yoshiki hissed.

" **But this is Sachiko we're talking about,"** Morishige argued. **"She'll probably come up with some kind of messed up, twisted story for sure."**

" **But she did say she wants to do 'something fun', so it might be alright,"** Yoshiki retorted. They all looked back at Sachiko again, her smile replaced by a look of confusion.

" **I have a good idea, too…"** she mumbled.

" **She's finally started to say it out loud!"** Yoshiki exclaimed. **"That definitely means we have to listen, right?!"**

" **B-But…"** Morishige stuttered, hesitant about listening to Sachiko's idea. Just then, Yoshiki felt someone pull on his jacket sleeve. He looked down and saw Sachiko looking up at him with a pleading look in her eyes.

" **Why isn't anyone listening to me?"** she asked sadly. **"I have** _ **SUCH**_ **a good idea too, you know."**

" **Really?"** Yoshiki inquired. **"Well, what kind of idea do you have, Sachiko?"**

" **Umm… I want to do a detective story!"** Sachiko exclaimed. Yoshiki, Mayu and Morishige glanced at each other with surprised expressions.

" **Well, that certainly came out of left field,"** Yoshiki noted.

" **A detective story?"** Morishige repeated.

" **Yep!"** Sachiko confirmed. **"A student detective story, and I'm gonna be the detective that brings evil to justice. I capture the evildoer with my awesome detective work! Sounds fun, right?"**

" **Well, I guess it sounds better that the other stuff,"** Yoshiki said. **"But Sachiko is better off as a criminal more than a…"**

" **Kishinuma-kun, stop!"** Mayu scolded. **"Say anymore and it won't end well!"** She knelt down in front of Sachiko. **"All right, Sachiko-san. A detective story, right?"**

" **Yep,"** Sachiko replied. **"Mayu understands things well."** Mayu giggles and bows in response.

" **Thank you,"** she said, before walking over to Yoshiki, a scowl on her face. **"Don't stimulate her like that, Kishinuma-kun! What are we gonna do if we all end up dead?!"**

Yoshiki crossed his arms and scoffed in response.

" **Well, excuse the fuck out of me for trying to give an honest opinion,"** he growled. Ignoring his response, Mayu turned and waved the rest of the group over to her for a meeting.

" **Okay, everyone,"** Mayu began. **"If you've got a good idea on a story, then let me know, okay? If we all work together, then I'm sure we'll finish the script in no time at all."**

" **Well, if it's a detective story, then I think a trick that surprises the audience is necessary,"** Nana suggested.

" **Oh! I remember a great trick that I read in a detective novel once,"** Chihaya spoke up.

" **What is it? Tell me!"** Mayu exclaimed. Azusa and Ran walked over to the group.

" **I guess we'll help you brainstorm ideas, too,"** Azusa said.

" **I think we definitely need some Yuri elements in this!"** Ran exclaimed.

" **No, I believe we need to put some boys love in there, wouldn't you say?"** Nari asked.

" **I want a classic cool one!"** Sachiko yelled happily.

The girls gathered around Mayu and began to come up with ideas for the script. Yoshiki and Morishige stepped back and watched from a distance, trying not to interfere. Yoshikazu was silently standing next to them.

" **Well, they seem to be having fun,"** Yoshiki observed.

" **That's good,"** Morishige replied. **"We can't have any hiccups if we want the story creation to go smoothly."**

Yoshikazu slowly nodded in response. Yoshiki stared up at the brute, a curious expression on his face.

" **You, uh, don't really do much, unless you're ordered to, huh?"** he asked.

" **Uh-uh,"** Yoshikazu grunted, shaking his head slowly.

" **You always wait like this unless you're ordered by Sachiko?"** Yoshiki continued.

" **Uh-huh,"** Yoshikazu replied, nodding his head.

" **Isn't it boring?"** Yoshiki inquired.

"… **Some… times…"** Yoshikazu said slowly, trying to focus to get the words out. Yoshiki stayed silent for a moment, digesting the giant's answer.

" **I guess you have a hard time too, huh?"** he questioned.

" **Hmmmm…"** Yoshikazu groaned softly, almost as if he was pondering Yoshiki's question.

After several minutes, Mayu let out a small sigh.

" **Alright, the basics of the story is done,"** she declared. **"But the details may take a while, so we might not be finished by today…"**

" **But the party is only for today, so it HAS to be done TODAY!"** Sachiko emphasized.

" **Oh, right. I forgot…"** Mayu mumbled, face palming. Morishige scratched his chin.

" **Well, we could just create the basic story and then make up the rest as it goes along,"** the cobalt-haired boy suggested.

" **Hold on, Morishige!"** Yoshiki exclaimed. **"I can't even act, much less adlib, you know?"**

" **You're such a wimp, Knight-kun,"** Azusa giggled.

" **You're so hopeless, Knight-kun,"** Ran laughed.

" **Shut up!"** Yoshiki roared. **"I told you from the beginning that I can't act! Don't decide everything to your accord!"**

" **Calm down, Kishinuma,"** Morishige replied. **"We'll give you an easy role, so there's no complaints, alright?"**

" **Alright, let's write this thing up and fast!"** Mayu declared, grabbing a pad of yellow paper and a pencil.

" **We're counting on you, Mayu,"** Morishige said.

Sitting down on the ground, Mayu begins writing on the pad as fast as she possibly could.

* * *

 _ **(Hysteric Birthday's Oozing with Sex Appeal begins playing in the background)**_

Meanwhile, Seiko and Packer continued to kiss inside the broom closet. Seiko began running her fingers through his emerald green hair, while Packer's hands found their way to her sides. She let out a small giggle in response, causing Packer to break the kiss.

" **What?"** he inquired. She giggled up at him.

" **Sorry,"** Seiko apologized. **"I'm just really ticklish, you know? Must be the sensitive skin I have."**

" **I didn't know that,"** Packer replied, as a sinister smile began to form on his face. **"But now I do."**

Seiko looked up at him in confusion, and gasped as she saw the playful look in his eyes and the wide smile on his face.

" **Oh, no! No, no no no no no,"** she speedily said. **"Packer-kun, don't you dare!"**

" **Oh, I'm gonna dare,"** he replied with a chuckle. **"Like right about…** _ **NOW!"**_

With a laugh, Packer dug his fingers into her ribs and began tickling her mercilessly. Seiko let out a loud laugh as her ribs were tortured by her boyfriend.

" _ **AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHA!"**_ she laughed loudly as Packer tickled her. **"Please stop! HAHAHAHA! Uncle, uncle! I give! HAHAHA! No more! I surrender!"**

Packer chuckled as he finally ceased his tickling of her, and Seiko took a moment to catch her breath before looking up at him, a lustful look on her face.

" **Oh, so you like it rough, don't ya?"** Seiko said. **"I'll remember that next time, Packer-kun."**

" **Well, consider it payback for all the sexual jokes you've embarrassed me with over the last two months,"** Packer laughed.

" **Touché,"** Seiko giggled, before leaning up and locking lips with Packer once again. After several seconds, they broke apart as they heard the door to the broom closet open once again. This time, when they glanced at the doorway, they saw their friends Satoshi and Naomi staring back at them with knowing smiles on their face.

" **Oh, hey there, Naomi, Mochida-kun,"** Seiko greeted them.

" **So this is where you've been all this time, huh?"** Naomi giggled.

" **How did you know where we were?"** Packer asked.

" **Well, while we were looking for you, we sort of heard Shinohara laughing from all the way across the hall,"** Satoshi replied. Seiko and Packer glanced at each other before letting out a small laugh.

" **Anyways, we wanted to find you because Sachiko has summoned us back to the auditorium,"** Naomi explained.

" **What for?"** Seiko asked.

" **Apparently, they are going to be performing some kind of play for us,"** Satoshi replied. Packer arched an eyebrow.

" **A play, huh?"** he said. **"Sounds interesting. Let's go and see what it's about."**

Grabbing Seiko's hand, he led her out of the closet and followed Satoshi and Naomi down the hall toward the auditorium.

* * *

Roughly one hour after she had started, Mayu finally finished the script for the story.

" **Finished!"** Mayu declared proudly.

" **Good work, Mayu,"** Morishige acknowledged. **"Sorry for taking on all of that for us."**

" **It's okay,"** Mayu replied. **"I like writing scripts anyway, and if I get to see Shige-nii's acting again through this, then I'll happily do it."**

" **Is that so?"** Morishige wondered. **"Well then, I guess I have to live up to the hype."**

Mayu giggled in response.

Yoshiki watched the pair from a short distance away, his arms crossed and a dull expression on his face. Azusa tilted her head at him.

" **Are you jealous, Knight-kun?"** the blonde girl inquired.

" **It's nothing like that,"** Yoshiki sternly replied.

" **The hate for love couples was in your eyes,"** Ran explained. **"Because your beloved Ayumi-Chan doesn't notice you in any way."**

Yoshiki felt a stab in his heart at the truth of the words, but that didn't stop him from being annoyed at the purple-haired girl.

" **Oh, shut up!"** he yelled indignantly. **"Stop getting on my grill every time, already!"**

" **Although they are all lovey-dovey, they don't stand a chance against us in love power!"** Ran boldly declared.

" **Eh?"** Yoshiki mumbled in confusion.

" **After all, myself and my wife are one in spirit!"** Ran continued. **"There is nobody who can stand up to our love for each other!"**

" **Oh, is that so? When did we become one in spirit, exactly?"** Azusa inquired. Ran let out a small groan, but quickly replaced it with a smile.

" **Ah, that kind of cool side of my wife… I love it!"** Ran exclaimed.

Morishige cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

" **Alright,"** he announced. **"Now that we've decided on the script, next we need to decide the roles. They include Detective, Assistant, Victim, Boy A, Discoverer, Vital Person and Narration. The detective will be…"**

Morishige looks over at Sachiko, who stares at him intently. He sighs and pushes his glasses up his nose.

" **The Detective will be… Sachiko,"** he said. Sachiko nodded happily at the decision.

" **Well, she looks happy,"** Yoshiki observed before turning back to the group. **"So what's gonna happen with the other roles?"**

" **Well, usually, we'd decide through holding some auditions, but…"** Morishige began. Sachiko glances up at Morishige and tilts her head in question.

" **Au… di… tion…?"** she said slowly, not sure what the word meant. **"What is that?"**

" **Well, an audition is a process where you read over the script and act out the role you want to do,"** Morishige explained. **"Afterwards, a set of judges then decide whether you're fit for the role or not."**

" **What role are you gonna play, Shige-nii?"** Mayu asked.

" **I'm… gonna pass,"** Morishige replied. A frown instantly appeared on Mayu's face.

" **Why?!"** she complained.

" **I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be given a crappy role, anyway,"** Morishige explained. **"If that's the case, then I'd rather do all the back work instead."**

" **What are you saying, Morishige-san?!"** Nana exclaimed. Morishige gasped as he was surrounded by Nana, Chihaya and Nari.

" **That's right, Morishige-san,"** Nari continued. **"You can't give up before we've even begun."**

" **I… I believe so, too,"** Chihaya agreed.

" **If Morishige-san isn't going to do it, then who will?"** Nana asked.

" **Yeah, Shige-nii,"** Mayu piped in. **"You were gonna put 120% of effort into this, weren't you? You'll be alright, Shige-nii. You just have to believe in yourself, okay?"**

Morishige felt his heart swell at Mayu's encouragement.

" **Mayu… you guys…"** he murmured.

" **Indeed,"** Azusa interjected. **"I do believe you'll do a better job than Knight-kun over here with no acting experience whatsoever."**

" **I agree,"** Ran replied. **"You should get Knight-kun to do all the crappy roles instead!"**

Yoshiki glared at the two girls.

" **You two are ruthless,"** he growled.

After thinking for a moment, Morishige made up his mind.

" **Alright,"** he declared. **"I'll do it!"**

" **Shige-nii!"** Mayu gasped happily.

" **Thank you! Thank you, everyone!"** Morishige said. Ran chuckled.

" **I just don't want Sakutaro-kun to drop out,"** she said.

" **Well, things are getting rather interesting,"** Azusa replied.

Morishige took a quick glance at the script.

" **With this script, everybody except the detective is pretty standard,"** he explained.

" **Yeah. I don't think it matters who does which role,"** Yoshiki replied. **"Do you want to just decide randomly?"**

" **Sounds like a good idea,"** Morishige agreed.

" **Heeeeey!"** Sachiko called out.

" **What now?"** Yoshiki inquired.

" **I want to try doing some auditions,"** Sachiko said. Yoshiki looked down at her with a flat look on his face.

" **But we've already decided that you would be the detective,"** Yoshiki pointed out.

" **It is 'Sacchan, the Supernatural Detective', so I don't think anybody but Sachiko-san can play that role,"** Mayu piped in.

" **But I still want to try this audition thing,"** Sachiko retorted. Yoshiki let out a frustrated sigh.

" **We just HAD to bring up auditions, didn't we?"** he said sarcastically.

" **What should we do, Shige-nii?"** Mayu asked.

" **If Sachiko wants to do it, then we can't possibly say no to her,"** Morishige replied.

" **But it makes no damn sense to hold an audition when we know the results already,"** Yoshiki interjected.

" **We'll fix the race,"** Morishige suggested. **"We'll just make it look like an audition, then we'll get started with the play."** He turned and waved the rest of the girls over. **"Hey, can I get everyone over here, please?"**

Azusa, Ran, Nana, Chihaya, and Nari all walked over to Morishige.

" **Make sure that what I'm about to tell you doesn't get noticed by Sachiko and Yoshikazu,"** Morishige explained. **"Sachiko just said that she wants to do an audition."**

" **What?!"** Nana exclaimed. **"But didn't she just say herself that she wanted to play the detective?"**

" **What are you going to do?"** Chihaya asked.

" **What we'll do is this,"** Morishige continued. **"We're going to hold what 'looks' like an audition so Sachiko can stay happy. If we piss Sachiko of, then who knows what will happen to us. Just make sure that she doesn't know we're lying to her."**

" **Okay,"** Nari replied.

" **So, what do you want us to do?"** Azusa asked.

While everyone was discussing what their plan was, Sachiko watched them from afar, a confused look on her face.

" **Hey, what's everyone talking about over there?"** she called out.

" **D-Don't worry about it!"** Yoshiki replied nervously. **"It's nothing important."** This only made Sachiko's confusion deepen.

" **Alright, everyone, listen up,"** Morishige whispered as he outlined his plan. After explaining everything, he glanced up at everyone. **"…and that's the plan. Everyone got that?"**

Morishige looks around at everyone to confirm that they understood the plan. Everybody nods with a nervous look.

" **Okay,"** Morishige said. **"Let's commence with Plan A."**

Yoshiki took a deep breath.

" **Alright, let's begin the audition!"** he said with an unnaturally boisterous voice.

" **Indeed,"** Morishige 'agreed'. **"We can't start a play without seeing what our actors and actresses can do."**

" **You're right! Auditions are really important!"** Mayu 'added'.

" **What do we do in an audition?"** Sachiko asked.

" **First, you decide what role you would like to play,"** Morishige explained. **"Then, you act out that role, and everybody decides, majority rules, as to whether you're fit for the role or not."**

" **Oh, oh! I want to be the detective!"** Sachiko exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down. However, she stopped when she noticed that nobody else had raised their hands or given any verbal indications.

" **Why isn't anyone raising their hands?"** Sachiko inquired. **"It's the lead role…"** A frown appeared on her features. **"Something seems wrong here…"**

Everyone glanced at each other with worried expressions.

" **Shige-nii, Sachiko-san is starting to get mad!"** Mayu whispered worriedly.

" **Well, looks like Plan A is a loser,"** Yoshiki replied softly.

" **Just as I thought,"** Morishige replied with a sigh. **"Going through without any other candidate was a bit of a stretch. Alright then, let's commence with Plan B."**

Sachiko arched an eyebrow in suspicion.

" **It's kind of weird,"** she mumbled. **"Are you guys being serious?"**

" **Actually, I want to give the lead role a try,"** Mayu spoke up.

" **Me, too,"** Nana said.

" **Me, three,"** Nari piped in.

" **I-I'd like to give it a shot as well,"** Chihaya stated.

" **Alright!"** Morishige declared. **"Show me the power of the drama club, girls!"**

" **I just realized something,"** Yoshiki mumbled. **"It's kind of weird how we're acting in an audition."**

" **So, including me, there are five candidates,"** Sachiko observed. **"As expected from a popular role like the detective!"**

" **Yeah, you're right,"** Yoshiki agreed, before mumbling softly to himself. **"Everyone is actually volunteering because they're afraid of Sachiko, though."**

" **Alright,"** Morishige began. **"We're going to start the audition with these five. The scene you'll be acting out is the detective Sacchan's introductory scene."**

" **That's the line 'Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!'"** Yoshiki explained.

" **Okay, Mayu, you're up first,"** Morishige said. Mayu took a deep breath.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!"** she recited.

" **That was totally emotionless,"** Morishige 'remarked'. Mayu glanced at him with a lopsided smile.

" **R-Really?"** Mayu said with a small giggle.

" **Alright, next up is Ogasawara-san,"** Morishige said. Nana took a deep breath.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!"** Nana recited with feigned nervousness.

" **You were screwing up all over the place,"** Morishige 'judged'.

" **S-Sorry. I always get nervous while auditioning for a big role, you know?"** Nana explained with a wink.

" **Next is Amatoya-san,"** Morishige said. Nari took a deep breath.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detec…"** she began reciting, before letting a volley of fake coughs erupt from her mouth. **"I'm sorry, there seems to be a problem with my throat and…"** Her voice trailed off as she continued to 'cough'. Morishige sighed.

" **I see,"** he remarked. **"I'm sorry, but you won't be able to play the lead role in that state."**

" **Aw…"** Nari said, feigning disappointment.

" **Okay, then, Yamase-san,"** Morishige said, pointing at Chihaya. **"Give it a go."** Chihaya took a deep breath.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detect…"** she began, before stuttering and stopping midsentence. **"I'm sorry! I can't do it!"**

" **What's wrong?"** Morishige asked.

" **I… I just can't play the lead role!"** Chihaya explained. **"Please, let me retire!"**

" **I see,"** Morishige said. **"So, Yamase-san has retired. At this rate, I can't let any of you guys take the role of Sacchan, which mean that the only one left to take the role is Sachiko. Thank you all for trying out…"**

Sachiko glared at the group, wondering why they were acting the way they were.

" **Suspicious,"** she growled. **"It seems you're doing bad acting on purpose. Maybe you're not being serious…"**

Everybody once again glanced at each other with worried expressions.

" **Shige-nii, Plan B is a failure, too!"** Mayu whispered worriedly. **"She's really quite mad!"**

" **It's suspicious according to anyone's eyes,"** Yoshiki whispered back. **"But I've got to give the little brat credit. She's got more brains than I ever gave her credit for."**

" **Then we don't have a choice,"** Morishige replied. **"Time for our last resort. Let's commence with Plan C."**

Morishige cleared his throat and addressed everyone in the room.

" **Can everybody act like normal, please?"** Morishige requested. **"Otherwise, we won't be able to decide properly and fairly who gets the role. Now, one by one, starting with Mayu, please recite the opening line once more."**

Mayu, Nana, Nari and Chihaya nodded, and starting with Mayu, began to recite the opening line.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!"** Mayu recited. Next up was Nana.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!"** Nana recited. Next up was Nari.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!"** Nari recited. Next up was Chihaya.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!"** Chihaya recited.

" **Sachiko, how was that?"** Morishige asked.

" **Yeah, looks good!"** Sachiko exclaimed. **"This looks like it's going to be a close one!"**

" **Alright,"** Morishige replied. **"Then give it a go, Sachiko."**

Sachiko cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!"** Sachiko recited, throwing her fist into the air with the last word. Everyone remained silent for a few moments. Yoshiki glanced over at Morishige, a disgusted look on his face.

" **Oy!"** the blonde boy moaned. **"That was emotionless beyond words! What are we gonna do?!"**

" **There's nothing we can do,"** Morishige explained. **"We need to let Sachiko be the main role."**

" **Yeah, you're right,"** Yoshiki begrudgingly agreed. **"Can't we just take a vote and just make Sachiko play the lead role already?"** After thinking about it for a moment, Morishige shook his head, his acting instincts kicking in.

" **But I can't accept someone with that lack of acting to be the main role!"** he growled, a deep scowl appearing on his face.

" **Just keep calm, Shige-nii!"** Mayu exclaimed. **"I'm sure Sacchan will get better with practice."**

Morishige let out a sigh of resignation.

" **You're right,"** he said. **"I need to calm down."**

Morishige took a couple of deep breaths and turned to everyone. Mayu started handing out the cards she had prepared earlier.

" **Alright, let's begin the voting,"** Morishige explained.

" **Please write down the person you think is most fit for the role of Sacchan and return the papers to me once you are done,"** Mayu announced.

After several minutes, everyone turned in their slips. Mayu 'counted' up the votes and turned to the group.

" **I will now announce the winner,"** she declared. She looks at each contestant and announced the winner. **"The winner, by unanimous vote, is… Sachiko! Congratulations!"**

Everyone started clapping.

" **Congratulations!"** all the girls said. Sachiko remained silent for a moment, causing Yoshiki to glance at Morishige with a worried expression.

" **H-Hey, was it still too obvious?"** he asked nervously.

" **Maybe a unanimous vote wasn't a good idea, but I can't cover this up anymore,"** Morishige explained. But then, a wide smile appeared on Sachiko's face and she burst into happy laughter.

" **Yaaaaay! I'm the lead role!"** she exclaimed happily. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

" **Thank God,"** Mayu sighed. **"She seems happy now."**

* * *

After deciding the rest of the roles, Morishige lined everyone up on the stage to begin rehearsal exercises.

" **Open your mouth wide and follow after me, producing your voice from the belly,"** Morishige instructed. **"A… E… I… U… E… O… A… O!"**

" **A… E… I… U… E… O… A… O!"** everyone chanted.

" **Kishinuma, Sachiko, you're not producing your voice from the belly!"** Morishige yelled. **"Quick and sharp, no extending of the vowels!"**

" **A-Alright!"** Yoshiki complained. _'Geez, Morishige is kind of freaking me out…'_ Yoshiki thought. **"A… E… I… U… E… O… A… O!"**

" **A… E… I… U… E… O… A… O!"** Sachiko chanted.

" **Alright, that's the ticket!"** Morishige encouraged. Yoshiki glanced over at Sachiko with an incredulous look on his face.

' _Sachiko is seriously participating in practice…? You've got to be shitting me,'_ Yoshiki thought.

" **Um, is it safe to leave Morishige-san to say stuff like that to Sachiko-san?"** Nana asked.

" **If we just happened to tick off Sachiko-san…"** Nari extended with worry. Chihaya shuddered with fright.

" **Alright,"** Morishige continued. **"Next, we'll go up on stage and practice. First up is Ogasawara-san!"**

" **Okay,"** Nana replied. Morishige and Nana climb up onto the stage.

" **Okay, Nana, you're the discoverer of the body,"** Morishige explained. **"Let's do the scene where you're blamed for the crime. I'll fill in on the detective role for the time being."**

Then, almost like he had just turned into a completely different person, Morishige, now in character, points at Nana.

" **Ogasawara-san… you're the culprit!"** Morishige shouted.

" **What?"** Nana replied, also in character. **"W-Why?! No way! What proof do you have that I did it?! Please explain this to me!"**

Morishige nods enthusiastically at Nana's acting.

" **Good!"** he acknowledged. **"You're putting emotion into your acting, as well as your lines! You've got a good sense going on there. Like so, you have to become and understand the character in order to act well."**

" **Except that' becoming the character' is what's difficult…"** Yoshiki remarked.

" **Thank you, Ogasawara-san,"** Morishige said, before glancing at Sachiko. **"Alright, Sachiko. Let's give it a go."**

" **Alrighty then,"** Sachiko said. As Morishige hops off the stage, she steps up onto it. **"Okay, I'm gonna start."** She gets into character and points at Nana.

" **Nana… you're the culprit!"** Sachiko says with a manic laugh.

" **No!"** Morishige shouted sharply from below the stage. **"You're trying to be a detective, not the evil murderer!"**

" **Well, that's what she kind of is…"** Yoshiki muttered to himself. Mayu buried her face in her hands.

" **Oh… I suspected it would come to this…"** she moaned.

" **What we have here is a detective of justice that captures evil, right?"** Morishige explained. **"A member of justice doesn't laugh creepily like that."**

" **Creepily?!"** Yoshiki gasped, face palming at Morishige's words. **"Oh, dude…"**

" **He's really saying things that might get Sachiko really mad…"** Nari warned. However, as if to ignore the others' warnings, Morishige continues on.

" **Listen here, Sachiko,"** he said. **"Your role is 'the detective of justice'. Don't forget that."**

Sachiko remained silent for a few moments, pondering Morishige's words with a blank look on her face. The worry on everyone's face was beginning to show.

" **I think Sachiko is getting mad, dude!"** Yoshiki warned.

" **Morishige-san is gonna die! I know it!"** Nana gasped.

However, as everyone waited for the inevitable explosion, Sachiko turned to Morishige and nodded in affirmation.

" **I understand, Morishige,"** she said, before pausing for a moment. **"No… Morishige-sensei! I'll do my best!"**

" **What?!"** everyone shouted.

" **S-Sensei?!"** Nana repeated in disbelief.

" **To think that the ultimately evil Sachiko isn't getting angry…"** Nari muttered, also in total disbelief.

" **A pure-hearted Sachiko-san is… weird…"** Chihaya said.

" **Weird? More like creepy as hell!"** Yoshiki exclaimed. Morishige looked back and glared at the group.

" **Hey! Stop talking!"** he scolded. **"You're disrupting our practice."**

" **Huh? Oh, sorry,"** Yoshiki apologized. _'Seems like Morishige is really serious about this, huh?'_ **"Hey, Morishige, if you're so uptight about this, we won't be able to finish this by today, you know? If you don't take it easy, we will…"**

" **No can do,"** Morishige replied. **"I don't want to call a half-assed play a proper play. My principle is to perfect anything and everything."**

" **Damn it, dude!"** Yoshiki snapped. **"Who cares what it's like, as long as Sachiko is happy with it?! What are you getting all hotheaded about?!"**

" **Sachiko, one more time,"** Morishige said, ignoring Yoshiki, causing the blonde to growl in response.

" **Okay,"** Sachiko replied, getting back into character. **"Nana… you're the culprit, am I right?"**

" **No! You've got to be more righteous!"** Morishige commanded. **"One more time!"**

Sachiko moaned with disappointment.

" **Oy, Oy,"** Yoshiki groaned. **"Sachiko is about to lose it! Suzumoto, stop Morishige already! If he keeps going like this, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later!"**

" **Y-Yeah, Mayu-san!"** Nana agreed. **"Please stop him!"**

After thinking for a moment, Mayu surprised everyone with her response.

" **Shige-nii is… he's only concentrating on acting,"** she explained. **"Right now, Shige-nii is shining bright! There's no way I can stop him now!"**

" **Shining bright, my ass!"** Yoshiki shouted. **"If Sachiko gets mad, then the first person she'll kill is Morishige!"**

" **Isn't there any way to stop Morishige-san?"** Nari asked.

Meanwhile, while the fevered conversation was going on, Morishige's lessons were continuing on.

" **Okay, Sachiko,"** he instructed. **"Try it the way I said it."**

" **You're the culprit,"** Sachiko recited.

" **You're still not in character!"** Morishige commented. Sachiko moaned in frustration.

" **I'm just getting yelled at…"** she complained. **"This isn't fun at all!"**

" **This is bad,"** Yoshiki said worriedly. **"Sachiko is definitely in a bad mood…"**

" **In that case…"** Nana began as she walked toward the stage. **"Sachiko-san?"**

" **Yes, Nana Onee-Chan?"** Sachiko said, gazing in Nana's direction.

" **Could you come here for a minute?"** Nana requested. **"There's something I have to talk to you about."**

Sachiko grunts in confusion as she jumps off the stage, a stern look on her face.

" **What's wrong, Ogasawara-san?"** Morishige inquired.

" **N-Nothing at all,"** Nana replied. **"Please don't mind us. I just need to talk to Sachiko-san for a moment."**

Nana led Sachiko away from Morishige so they could talk in private. Sachiko let out a sad sigh as she gazed up at Nana.

" **Thanks for the good timing,"** Sachiko admitted. **"It was so boring just practicing. I want to do something that's more fun."**

" **Well, Sachiko-san,"** Nana began. **"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, the reason Morishige-san is so harsh to you is because he has big expectations from you."**

" **Expectations… from me?"** Sachiko asked.

" **It's a natural thing to be harsh to someone that is expected to do great things,"** Nana continued. **"You're a ball of talent! Your acting is amazing!"**

" **I just stare blankly in amazement when you act!"** Nari chimed in.

" **You're a one in a million actress!"** Chihaya added.

Everyone started to applaud around Sachiko.

" **I see,"** Yoshiki observed. **"They're trying to make Sachiko feel better by praising her!"**

" **I'm… being expected of great things…?"** Sachiko asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

" **Yeah,"** Yoshiki replied. **"Morishige is making you do it over and over because he knows you'll get better at acting! Now that you know he's expecting great things from you, why not continue practicing?"**

" **I understand,"** Sachiko acknowledged. **"I'll continue to get better. I promise you that!"**

With a confident nod, Sachiko turns and walks back onto the stage.

" **Let's return to practice,"** Morishige requested. **"We don't have that much time."**

Sachiko giggled.

" **Morishige is strict towards me because you expect great things from me, huh?"** she said. Morishige tilted his head in confusion. **"It's okay. You don't need to say anymore. I'll show you my true talent, so don't you worry."**

" **Not sure what you're on about, but if you're ready, then that's all that matters,"** Morishige replied. **"Alright, let's try it again, from that scene."**

Sachiko took a deep breath.

" **The culprit is… you!"** Sachiko shouted.

" **No!"** Morishige shouted.

Then, to the complete shock of everyone, he walked up and… slapped Sachiko?! Everyone let out a shocked, horrified gasp.

" **H-H-He just slapped Sachiko…!"** Yoshiki gasped.

" **Oh, no! This is the end…!"** Chihaya cried.

" **Wait! Look at that…"** Nana said, pointing at the stage. Much to everyone's shock, Sachiko stared up at Morishige, a determined look on her face.

" **Morishige… I… I won't give up!"** she declared in a confident voice. Finally, Morishige let a smile grace his lips.

" **Well said!"** he acknowledged. **"I was waiting for those words! Sachiko, believe in yourself. You can do it!"**

Sachiko ran up and grasped both of Morishige's hands.

" **Morishige!"** she shouted.

" **Sachiko!"** Morishige returned the favor.

Meanwhile, everyone was staring at the scene in front of them with dumbfounded looks on their faces.

" **What the actual hell…?"** Yoshiki mumbled in disbelief.

" **This is getting kind of weird…"** Nana also mumbled.

Mayu stared at the scene in front of her with a wide smile on her face and stars in her eyes.

" **Shige-nii… is so cool!"** she admired.

" **Well, looks like Mayu is completely out of it as well,"** Yoshiki said with a sigh. **"I wonder when we're actually gonna do something, though. This is getting boring as all hell."**

With that, Yoshiki began walking toward the door.

" **Kishinuma-san, where are you going?"** Chihaya asked.

" **It seems my time has yet to come, so I'm off on a stroll so that I'm not being bored to death by how long this is taking,"** Yoshiki replied. With distant eyes, he wanders off outside the auditorium.

" **Alright, one more time!"** Morishige instructed. **"The scene where you pinpoint the culprit!"**

" **The culprit is… you!"** Sachiko shouted once more.

Over the next several hours, Sachiko practiced with Morishige and everybody else did their own practice to prepare for the play. They even did a dress rehearsal to simulate performing the play.

* * *

Finally, after several hours, the moment of truth arrived…

" **Alright, you guys!"** Morishige announced. **"We've lived through the harsh practice. Now, all that's left for us to do is to give it our all in the main show!"**

" **We're finally done…"** Nana said with exhaustion.

" **I'm glad Morishige-san didn't get killed at least…"** Chihaya mumbled.

" **Killed? But I'm not the role of the victim,"** Morishige remarked in confusion. Nari face palmed in response.

" **This guy has no idea what he did to be in such danger,"** she remarked in disbelief. Morishige looked around the stage.

" **Well, we got the acting out of the way, but there aren't any props or backgrounds,"** he said.

" **Have no fear,"** Sachiko assured. **"I can change the backgrounds and props while the play is going on. All I have to do is snap my fingers, and presto!"**

" **You can do something like that?"** Morishige inquired.

" **Heavenly Host is set up for a party today,"** Sachiko explained. **"I can easily do stuff like this."**

As Sachiko snaps her fingers several times, the props and backgrounds disappear and reappear like magic.

" **Amazing!"** Mayu admired. **"Now we don't need to worry about props and stuff!"**

Just then, the door opened, revealing that Yoshiki had returned from outside the auditorium.

" **Kishinuma, where have you been?"** Morishige asked with a stern look on his face. **"You haven't even practiced for the play!"**

" **Well, I was on a journey of self-realization,"** Yoshiki replied.

" **That makes no sense,"** Morishige replied in confusion. **"Anyway, we're almost ready to go on, so you might want to prepare yourself."**

" **Seriously?!"** Yoshiki hissed. **"I haven't practiced at all… actually, I haven't even seen the script, so I have no idea what role I'm playing either."** He let out a sigh of resignation. **"I guess I'm the victim, so I fight with the culprit and stuff. Isn't that gonna be difficult?"**

" **Don't worry,"** Morishige replied. **"Your role is one that can be done even with zero practice."**

" **Huh? Really?"** Yoshiki inquired. Sachiko let out a small giggle.

" **Alright, let's call the crowd in, then,"** she said, turning to Yoshikazu. **"Hey, you big dumb, time to go get everyone. The play's about to begin!"**

Yoshikazu groaned and nodded in affirmation before turning and leaving the auditorium, bound for the Infirmary where everyone was waiting.

* * *

After several minutes, the students began to file into the auditorium, as well as several spirits of the school. The Kisaragi group filed into their seats next to one another as they waited for the play to start.

" **Well, they said it was gonna be a play, but I wonder what it's gonna be like,"** Satoshi remarked.

" **Sachiko is the main role, right?"** Naomi asked. **"I wonder…"** Packer let out a small laugh.

" **Knowing her, it's probably something horror related in all likelihood,"** he replied. Seiko giggled.

" **I want to do a lovey-dovey romantic comedy with Packer-kun, though,"** she said wistfully. Packer's cheeks flared red at her words.

" **Aw, no way,"** he said with embarrassment. **"I'd be too embarrassed to do something like that."** Seiko cupped Packer's face in her hands and giggled.

" **Aw, you're so cute when you blush,"** she remarked. Of course, this only made Packer's already red cheeks deepen in color. Naomi giggled at the sight of the two of them.

" **Come to think of it, this is the first time I'll get to watch Morishige-kun and Suzumoto-san act,"** Yui said.

" **But it's a play that Sachiko-san made, so it doesn't really sound like a particular good idea,"** Ayumi replied with caution.

Further down, Naho and Sayaka sat down in their seats, although Naho seemed less than thrilled.

" **Do I have to watch this?"** she growled.

" **Naho-Chan, let's just go with the flow here,"** Sayaka suggested.

" **Sayaka, the seat next to me is free…"**

" **I've decided that I'm next to Naho-Chan…"** Sayaka began, before her voice trailed off, and her eyes widened at the familiar voice. Turning her head, the person talking to her was… Inumaru?! **"Hey! I thought you were sent home!"**

Yuka and Satsuki also took their seats next to the Kisaragi group.

" **Yuka-chi, I wonder what the play is gonna be like,"** Satsuki beamed.

" **Satsuki-Chan, you have to be quiet once it starts, okay?"** Yuka asked.

As everyone continued to file in, the crowd consisted of a little more than twenty people. From behind the curtain, Yoshiki's eyes widened as he noticed how big the crowd was.

" **That's more people than I thought there'd be…"** he remarked.

" **Alright, everyone. Prepare yourself backstage,"** Morishige announced. **"We're going on momentarily. Remember, everyone, just give it your all!"**

* * *

Suddenly, there was a loud buzzing sound, directing everyone's attention to the stage. Then, there was an announcement over the loud speaker.

" _ **We will now begin 'Sacchan, the Supernatural Detective', brought to you by 'Sachiko and her happy little friends'. Please don't forget to turn off all mobile phones and electrical devices."**_

" **Got to love the sponsor plug,"** Packer laughed.

" _ **While we wait for the performers to set up, please enjoy the show's promotional video in the meantime."**_

" **They even made a promotional video?"** Satoshi remarked with amazement.

" **Just how much effort did they put in?"** Naomi asked.

" **Apparently, a lot,"** Packer replied.

The lights were lowered, and the promotional video began playing on the big screen in front of them.

* * *

The promo was being shown in a widescreen view. A flash of lightning lit up the hallway of the school.

 _The day the mysterious murder happened…_

 _ **Nana: (screams) There's a dead body!**_

 _One by one, the possible culprits appear. One by one, the plot thickens…_

The camera fades in to reveal the inside of a dark classroom, with Yoshiki sitting in one of the desks with a smirk on his face.

 _ **Yoshiki: (chuckles) I'll scribble all over that person's history textbook! I'll draw a beard on every historical figure ever…**_

Packer covered his mouth with his hand to keep from laughing out loud. He was vibrating violently from laughing silently, though.

 _ **Morishige: Wahh! Francisco de Xavier is… he doesn't have enough hair up top and yet down below, he's been turned into a hairball!**_

" **Wait, who the heck is Francisco de Xavier?"** Satsuki asked.

" **He was a Spanish Roman Catholic missionary born in the 1500s,"** Packer replied.

 _An uncracked mystery… a twisted craving…_

The camera fades back in to reveal another classroom bathed in light, with three girls within it.

 _ **Nana: I bought a new candy at the convenience store!**_

 _ **Nari: Ooh, looks tasty. But what's the calories on it?**_

 _ **Chihaya: Why do people get fat when they eat, I wonder?**_

The camera fades to black once more.

 _And so, the people called 'them' for assistance…_

A cellphone begins ringing in the background. Then, the camera fades in to reveal Azusa and Ran standing in the hallway of the school. Azusa picks up her cellphone and answers it.

 _ **Azusa: Hello? Is this the number for the Supernatural Detective Sacchan…? What? You don't sell that kind of ramen here? Oh, dear. I called the wrong number!**_

 _ **Ran: Wife, calm down!**_

The camera fades out one last time.

 _The new horror mystery: Sacchan, Supernatural Detective. Coming Soon!_

* * *

" **Best promotional video ever,"** Packer laughed.

" **The narration seems reasonable, but the actual thing was…"** Kurosaki began.

" **Pure chaos, I'd say,"** Fukuroi finished.

Then, another announcement came over the intercom.

" _ **On a side note, the promotional video you just saw is just an image. It has no relation to the actual play."**_

" **Are you freaking serious?!"** Satoshi yelled. Naomi, Seiko and Packer chuckled and giggled in response.

" **Best troll ever,"** Packer laughed.

" **I agree,"** Naomi replied, still giggling. Just then, the curtain began to part, revealing the stage had been set for the first scene.

" **All right, guys,"** Packer said. **"It's time for the main event."**

With the curtains fully drawn back, they could see that the first scene was set in a school highway, which was completely dark.

* * *

 _A stand-of-the-mill regular school life… However, that regular day crumbled with the scream of one girl…_

Suddenly, the scream of Nana echoed throughout the auditorium, and the scene then revealed that Yoshiki was lying face down on the ground, with a knife in his back.

" **Someone… someone is dead!"** Nana shouted. Yoshiki let out a small groan of annoyance.

' _I even did a voice preparation thing, and my role doesn't even have any freaking dialogue!'_ he thought. _'So, this is what Morishige meant about being able to do this role without any practice. Clever bastard…'_

The students gathered from Nana's scream that echoed throughout the school.

" **What?! A dead body?!"** Morishige exclaimed.

" **What's wrong, Nana?!"** Nari asked.

" **Nana-Chan, are you alri…"** Chihaya began, before noticing the body and letting an ear-piercing scream escape her diaphragm.

" **This is…"** Azusa mumbled.

" **He's dead…"** Ran observed.

" **What happened here?!"** Morishige yelled, before pulling out his cellphone. **"Let's take a picture for the time being."**

As Morishige takes the picture, Yoshiki eyes Morishige as best he can with a look of annoyance on his face.

" **Are you serious, dude?!"** he mumbled.

" **Kishinuma…"** Morishige moaned. **"Who did this to you?! What a terrible thing to have happened to you!"**

" **Is he a friend of yours?"** Nana asked.

" **Yeah,"** Morishige replied. **"Kishinuma is my best friend. Damn it… who could've done this?!"**

Nana reached down and felt Yoshiki's body, letting out a small gasp.

" **The body is still warm,"** she observed. **"It hasn't been long since he was killed."**

" **Don't tell me… the killer is still in the school?!"** Nari implied worriedly.

" **No way…"** Chihaya gasped. **"What should we do?!"**

" **Everybody, please calm yourselves down,"** Azusa said.

" **Calm down?!"** Morishige shouted. **"Don't mess with me! My friend just died, and the killer might still be in the school building!"**

" **Damn, Morishige is pretty good,"** Packer observed.

" **Wailing about it won't change anything,"** Azusa replied. **"In any respect, why don't we test out one of the seven haunted mysteries of the school?"**

" **Seven haunted mysteries?"** Morishige repeated.

" **Indeed,"** Azusa confirmed. **"When the school has fallen into peril, and a mystery needs to be solved, then we must call upon the only one who can solve it! The Supernatural Detective… Sacchan!"**

Then, the scene changed to show that Azusa, Ran and Morishige were standing in the middle of a classroom, holding a Sachiko Ever After charm.

" **We need to take this Sachiko paper doll and pull on it at the same time,"** Azusa explained.

" **And then, Sacchan will appear?"** Morishige asked.

" **Indeed,"** Azusa replied.

" **Well, then, let's do it,"** Morishige said.

" **Yeah, let's do it!"** Ran shouted enthusiastically.

" **One, two, three!"** Morishige counted. Together, they pulled the charm apart. There was a thunder crash, and then, the room went completely dark.

" **What the?!"** Morishige shouted. **"Everything went dark!"**

" **Wife! Are you alright?!"** Ran yelled, trying to find grab hold of Azusa.

" **Hey! Don't hold me there through all the calamity!"** Azusa exclaimed.

" **Ooohhh, come oooon…"** Ran moaned wistfully.

" **Is everyone okay?!"** Nana shouted.

" **Y-Yeah,"** Chihaya replied.

Then, another bolt of lightning illuminated the room, and everyone gasped as they could see a new figure standing near one of the windows, holding what appeared to be a pair of scissors.

" **W-Who are you?!"** Morishige shouted.

" **Shining through the darkness with her detective skills, Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, is here!"** Sachiko chanted. It also appeared that Sachiko was now wearing a detective's outfit, compete with a detective cap and long jacket.

Another bolt of lightning illuminated the room as Sachiko twirled the scissors around her finger.

" **Have no fear,"** she said. **"I am a member of justice."**

" **Whoa, whoa, whoa!"** Kurosaki yelled. **"She's a member of justice with a freaking pair of scissors in her hand?!"**

" **Yeah,"** Fukuroi agreed. **"All I see is a villain."**

Yoshikazu glared at the Byakudan boys and started roaring angrily at them.

" **Whoa, what the hell?!"** Katayama yelped. **"Why is he getting all mad at us?!**

" **I think he's telling us to just accept that fact!"** Ohkawa yelled.

" **Then I suggest you do so if you value your life,"** Packer pointed out.

 _The Supernatural Detective, Sacchan, was called upon via the mysterious ritual done by the students. With Azusa and Ran as her assistants, Sacchan began the investigation._

Sachiko stared down at the body in front of her.

" **So, this is the victim,"** she observed.

" **Indeed,"** Azusa replied. **"There are no witnesses or clues left. It may be possible that the culprit had a rather meticulous personality."**

" **Hmmmm…"** Sachiko hummed in thought. Meanwhile, Yoshiki's thoughts continued racing as he lied there.

' _Am I just gonna stay like this?'_ Yoshiki thought. _'Actually, what the heck am I doing? She's an evil spirit that has killed countless innocent people.'_ He stopped his train of thought for a moment and sighed. _'No, if I go on a rampage and piss off Sachiko, then I'll be responsible for getting everybody killed. It can't be helped, so I'll stay calm for now.'_

" **Turn your ears to the untold voices,"** Sachiko said.

" **What do you mean?"** Azusa asked. Sachiko pointed to Yoshiki's right hand, which had a trace of blood on the forefinger.

" **Look. The finger of the dead body… has written a 'W' in blood,"** Sachiko pointed out.

" **W-What?!"** Ran shouted incredulously. **"Oh, my God! I didn't notice that at all!"**

" **That's so cliché,"** Naho remarked. **"You think you'd notice something like they, wouldn't you?"**

" **Yeah, that's my Naho-tan!"** Sayaka replied. **"You really think outside the box!"**

" **It's nothing special,"** Naho retorted. **"By the way, there are hardly any real-life cases where there is any kind of blood writing left over."**

" **This is a dying message,"** Sachiko explained. **"Words left by the dead."**

" **Dying message,"** Azusa said. **"A 'W'… I wonder, what meaning does that hold?"**

After a moment, Sachiko glanced up at everyone.

" **Gather everyone to the classroom,"** she announced. **"I've cracked this case to send the dead to nirvana."**

 _And so, everybody was gathered to the classroom, where Sachiko began her reveal._

" **What's this about?"** Morishige questioned. **"Calling everyone out like this…"**

" **Don't tell me… you've figured out who the killer is?!"** Nana exclaimed.

" **Who is it?"** Nari asked.

" **Please tell us!"** Chihaya begged.

" **Everyone, please settle down,"** Azusa said. **"This case was solved from the dying message left by the victim."**

" **Now, Supernatural Detective Sacchan, please reveal the culprit!"** Ran shouted.

" **The culprit is… you, Nana!"** Sachiko shouted, causing Nana to gasp in surprise.

" **What?! Me?!"** she yelled indignantly.

" **No way,"** Chihaya gasped. **"Nana-Chan, it was you?!"**

" **I see,"** Morishige said. **"The discoverer of the body is the most suspicious person here."**

" **H-Hey, hold on,"** Nana yelled. **"Why me?!"**

" **The key to this case is the letter 'W',"** Sachiko explained. **"And OgasaWara Nana, your name is the only one with the letter 'W' in it."**

" **Ooh, pretty clever,"** Packer admired.

" **No way!"** Nana rejected. **"If you were to use an alphabet to express a name, you'd think you'd use the first letter of the name…"**

" **I'm sure W was used because there are other people with O and N in their names,"** Sachiko continued.

" **That's a pretty good point,"** Ayumi said.

" **But I don't think you would think that deep before you die,"** Nana argued.

" **Hmmm…"** Sachiko hummed, before coming to a conclusion. **"I guess you're right."**

" **S-Sacchan?!"** Ran exclaimed.

" **Everybody makes mistakes,"** Sachiko said. **"Even a super genius detective like me gets it wrong every now and then."** She looks back at the body. **"But if the W doesn't represent Nana as the killer, then what else could it mean? It looks like we'll have to dig a little deeper to figure this mystery out."** She glanced at the group. **"I'll think it over. Everyone is free to go."**

" **It's kind of strange to see a detective admit their own mistakes so easily,"** Azusa remarked.

" **But it makes me wonder why we were summoned in the first place…"** Morishige said.

 _With Sachiko admitting her flaws and mistakes, she returned to the hallway to rethink her theories._

" **So, 'W' didn't represent Nana,"** she mumbled.

" **Sacchan, who exactly could the culprit be?"** Azusa asked.

Sachiko stayed silent for a while, until she finally opened her mouth.

" **Oh, I got it!"** she shouted. **"I had the meaning of the W mixed up!"**

" **You figured it out?"** Azusa inquired.

" **Yep,"** Sachiko replied. **"Azusa, Ran, gather everybody back to the classroom."**

After several minutes, everyone returned to the classroom.

" **What is it now, calling everyone back so soon?"** Morishige asked.

" **Did you figure out who the real killer is?"** Nana asked.

" **Who is it?!"** Nari inquired.

" **Please tell us!"** Chihaya exclaimed.

" **Everybody, please calm down,"** Azusa said. **"Sacchan has now finally figured out the mystery of the dying message."**

" **Now, please announce the killer's name!"** Ran said.

" **Indeed,"** Sachiko replied. **"But before we do that… I need everybody to pull up your shirts and show me your waists."**

" **Eh?"** Nana mumbled.

" **What?"** Nari said.

" **W-Why?"** Chihaya asked.

" **The dying message left by the victim, the 'W', is most likely a symbol for the word 'waist',"** Sachiko explained. **"I speculate there is some kind of scar left on the culprit's waist that will be key to cracking this case wide open."**

" **I see,"** Morishige realized. **"In a mystery story, there are many cases where the victim leaves a clue on the culprit's body before they die."**

" **But… I'm not too comfortable with showing my waist in front of boys,"** Nari said with embarrassment.

" **Don't worry,"** Morishige assured. **"Oh, I'll be out of the room when you do it, so just call me back when you're done."**

" **Hm, I think it's fine if we just get Morishige-san to face the other way instead,"** Nana suggested. **"Then all we have to do is surround her, so nothing is showing."**

" **Yeah,"** Chihaya agreed. **"I think that's fine, too."**

" **But…"** Nari stuttered, still showing signs of hesitation.

While everyone seemed to be giving their okay, only Nari gives a stern look on her face. Sachiko giggles in response.

" **So, you've shown your true colors,"** she declared. **"You must be the killer, Nari."**

" **N-No! I didn't do it!"** Nari yelled.

" **If that's true, then why are you so hesitant about showing us your waist?"** Sachiko inquired.

" **W-Well…"** Nari stuttered, trying to think of a good excuse.

" **No way, Nari-Chan,"** Chihaya said in disbelief.

" **No way!"** Nana shouted. **"Nari-Chan would never do something like this!"**

Suddenly, Nana grabbed Nari from behind.

" **Chihaya-Chan!"** Nana shouted. **"I'll keep her here, so go get that thing in the meantime!"**

" **Okay!"** Chihaya acknowledged, running out of the classroom.

" **Eh? Chihaya?"** Nari exclaimed.

After a minute or two, Chihaya came running back in with… measuring tape?

" **Just hold on for a little while, Nari-Chan,"** Nana said. **"Morishige-san, can you face the other way for a minute, please?"**

" **Oh, okay,"** Morishige replied.

" **N-No!"** Nari yelled. **"Chihaya, Nana, please let me go!"**

" **Sorry, Nari-Chan!"** Chihaya apologized. **"I'll be gentle!"**

" _ **NOOOOOOOOO!"**_ Nari screamed.

After a few minutes, it was over.

" **Well, we've finished measuring her waist,"** Chihaya said.

Nari moaned with embarrassment.

" **I knew it,"** Nana said. **"She got fatter, and yet I told you so many times!"**

A sharp piano sound echoes throughout the school.

" **It's all… it's all the candy's fault!"** Nari cried. **"It's because there are such sweet and tasty things on this planet!"**

" **It connected to the promotional video?"** Yui noticed.

" **I know that feel!"** Seiko said. **"It's hard to hold off on something that's so easy to get and that is so sweet and tasty!"**

" **Doesn't seem to have affected your figure any, Seiko,"** Packer laughed. Seiko giggled in response.

" **Aw, thanks, Packer-kun,"** she cooed.

" **On the road to beauty, a diet is an unavoidable obstacle,"** Azusa said. **"You'll never be a beautiful woman if you can't avoid such easy obstacles like sweets, you know? Anyway, was there any kind of clue on Nari-Chan's waist?"**

" **No, there wasn't anything there,"** Nana replied.

" **Nari-Chan… would never do something like that,"** Chihaya piped in.

" **Seeing is believing!"** Nana said. **"Take a look. This is the proof!"**

She roughly raised Nari's shirt up, much to her chagrin.

" **Hey, Nana!"** she exclaimed. **"Don't raise my shirt up!"**

" **Hmmm… doesn't seem like there are any scars,"** Sachiko surmised, before turning to Morishige. **"Hey, Morishige, show me your waist, too."**

" **I see no point, but here you go,"** Morishige replied, exposing his waist.

Every member's waist was checked, but there was nothing significant to indicate the culprit.

" **Sacchan, what is this all about?"** Azusa asked.

" **Looks like I misinterpreted the message again,"** Sachiko replied.

" **Is that so?"** Ran asked. Sachiko sighed with relative frustration.

" **Alright, everybody can scram for now,"** Sachiko announced. **"If I find something, I'll call you back in."**

" **You're so rough,"** Morishige sighed.

 _Knowing now that Nari was not the culprit, Sachiko once again returned to the scene of the crime._

" **So, Nari wasn't the culprit,"** Sachiko mumbled to herself. **"Then, who is…?"**

" **Sacchan, who's the culprit?"** Azusa asked. **"I'm starting to get a little worried."**

" **Have no fear,"** Sachiko assured. **"I'll find out for sure this time. Hmmm… the culprit… has to be…"**

" **Come on, hurry up and track the killer down!"** Ran complained. **"Huurryy uuuuuuuup!"**

" **Shut up!"** Sachiko growled. **"Do you want to die?!"**

" **I-I'm terribly sorry!"** Ran gasped, backpedaling. Sachiko looked back down at the marking, and then, the light bulb finally went off in her head.

" **Oh, so that's what it is,"** Sachiko realized.

" **What have you found out, Sacchan?"** Azusa asked.

" **We were viewing this as a 'W' the entire time,"** Sachiko explained. **"But in reality, it's not a 'W' at all. Instead, if we look at it from a different angle, the letter is actually an 'M'!"**

" **My goodness, you're right!"** Ran exclaimed.

" **And the words that Nana gave me acted as a hint,"** Sachiko continued. **"If you were to use the alphabet as a clue, you would use it as a first letter, and there is only one person with an 'M' in their name. Azusa, Ran, gather everybody up."**

" **Have you finally got it this time?"** Ran asked. Sachiko nodded.

After everyone had been gathered back in the classroom, Sachiko let out a knowing giggle and set a steely eye on Morishige.

" **I've finally pinpointed the real killer,"** she declared, pointing a finger at Morishige. **"It's you, Morishige!"**

Morishige gasped in surprise at first, but then, his face twisted into something resembling that of a madman, and he began to laugh manically.

" **I'm surprised you found out!"** he said.

" **Why did you kill Kishinuma?"** Sachiko inquired.

" **That guy,"** Morishige explained. **"He drew all over my Japanese History textbook! It's all his fault!"**

" **This part is connected to the PV, too?!" K** atayama exclaimed.

" **Come on. I thought it was pretty obvious from the moment he took the photo of a dead body,"** Kurosaki answered.

" **To me, Kishinuma was a great friend,"** Morishige continued. **"But he had to draw all over Francisco de Xavier's face. Why did it have to come to this? Now that I think about it, it wasn't something to get so mad about… Kishinuma… I'm sorry… Maybe I was irritated by Yoshiki, being so rude, obnoxious, and having such a selfish and terribly insensitive personality."**

 _With Morishige's confession, this case had come to a close. However… Sachiko still felt a sense of unease about this case._

" **This was indeed a sad case, but… something is bugging me…"** Sachiko said, eyes distant.

" **Yeah,"** Azusa replied. **"According to some of the reports I've obtained, it seems that Sakutaro-kun has an alibi in this case."**

" **At the time of the murder, Sakutaro-kun was seen practicing for his play in the gymnasium,"** Ran continued.

" **So, Morishige wasn't the culprit…"** Sachiko mumbled. **"And yet, he lied about being the culprit, which means he was covering for somebody else!"**

" **So, you were wrong again?"** Ran asked. Sachiko glared at the purple-haired girl.

" **Wrong,"** she replied. **"It simply means he was an accomplice in the murder."** She scratched her chin in thought, and then, the answer came to her. **"I've got it! There happens to be one more person with a name starting with 'M'!"**

" **Another person starting with 'M'? I hope you're right,"** Ran replied, a little unsure.

" **I'm certain this time,"** Sachiko said with confidence. **"Okay, I've figured everything out. Come on out, the only other person with a name starting with 'M'…"** After pausing for a dramatic effect, she boldly announced the name of the true killer…

" _ **MAYU!"**_

Right as she calls her out, Mayu appears in front of her, a smug look on her features. She lets an evil giggle escape from her mouth.

" **I'm surprised,"** she said. **"Yes. Indeed, I am the real culprit!"**

" _ **WHAAAAAAAAT?!"**_ the entire audience shouted.

" **Holy shit, man!"** Packer yelled in shock, yet a smile was plastered all over his features. **"That plot twist… even I never saw that one coming!"**

" **But why is it Suzumoto?!"** Satoshi shouted. **"But… she was never a character that came out in the story…"**

" **In these past couple of scenes, there was no information given about me, but I was actually there the whole time,"** Mayu explained. **"I call it 'The Deception Trick'!"**

" **I-Is that even legal?"** Satoshi wondered.

" **You bet your ass it's legal,"** Packer replied. **"It keeps the audience guessing, and it featured a huge plot twist. Absolute genius."**

" **Mayu…"** Morishige whispered, walking up to her.

" **Thank you, Shige-nii, for covering for me,"** Mayu said. **"I was really happy. But I can't stand watching Shige-nii getting hit with all the blame!"**

" **Mayu, why did you kill Kishinuma?"** Sachiko inquired.

" **Kishinuma-kun, Shige-nii and I were always good friends,"** Mayu explained. **"I always thought they would be good friends… until that love triangle happened!"**

" **A love triangle…"** Azusa repeated. **"Don't tell me… Sakutaro-kun and Knight-kun were fighting over you?"**

' _Well, this is kind of turning weird…'_ Yoshiki thought.

" **No, that's not it,"** Mayu said, causing Azusa to gasp.

" **But… that love triangle is…"** she began.

" **I loved Shige-nii!"** Mayu shouted. **"And then… One day… I saw it. The two of them walking side by side all friendly…"**

Yoshiki mumbled in confusion.

* * *

 _ **FLASHBACK… SORT OF…**_

 _Mayu watched from around the corner as Yoshiki and Morishige walked away from her, not noticing her._

" _ **Huh? That's Shige-nii… WHAT?!"**_ _she shouted. Morishige had his right arm draped over Yoshiki shoulders._

" _ **Oy, you're a bit close, aren't you?"**_ _Yoshiki asked._

" _ **I can't help it,"**_ _Morishige replied._ _ **"I don't have my glasses, so I can't see a damn thing at all. It'd be dangerous for me to walk by myself without them."**_

" _ **Doesn't change the fact that you've being this close is creepy and uncomfortably warm!"**_ _Yoshiki shouted._

" _ **Don't worry, I'm more creeped out than you!"**_ _Morishige retorted._ _ **"But never mind that. Pay attention to where you're walking!"**_

 _Mayu continued to watch in disbelief, not understanding the situation._

" _ **What? Why is Kishinuma-kun and Shige-nii holding each other's shoulders?"**_ _she gasped._ _ **"No way! Ahhh… I'll pretend I didn't see anything!"**_

* * *

 _ **BACK IN THE PRESENT…**_

" **Kishinuma-kun and Shige-nii was like 'Ahaha… oh you!' and we're being all lovey-dovey like…"** Mayu said.

' _Oyyyyyy! What kind of freaky shit is she talking about?!'_ Yoshiki thought angrily.

Packer had to slap both hands over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud, and Seiko and Ayumi also seemed to be on the verge of losing it.

" **Oh, my God,"** Packer said, still trying to hold his laughter in. **"This is just epic…"**

" **There was no denying that those two are together!"** Mayu shouted.

' _Daaaaaaaaaaaa! No freaking way that would ever happen!'_ Yoshiki thought, his anger starting to overwhelm his senses.

" **I think the look on Kishinuma's face says in all,"** Seiko observed, giggling a little.

" **Yep,"** Packer chuckled.

" **Priceless,"** Ayumi giggled.

" **You're wrong, Mayu!"** Morishige shouted. **"That's a mistake! There's no way Yoshiki and I are in that kind of relationship! The most important person to me is you, Mayu… more than anyone else in the world!"**

" **Ooh, did Morishige accidentally confess his feelings about Mayu?"** Packer wondered.

Mayu gasped as tears came to her eyes.

" **Shige-nii…"** she cried.

" **So… that's what this was all about,"** Sachiko said somberly. **"A terrible tragedy that happened from a freak occurrence."**

" **I'm so sorry… Kishinuma-kun…"** Mayu apologized tearfully.

" **I am Sachiko, the Supernatural Detective,"** Sachiko said. **"I've seen many spirits and ghosts wander the earth in my life. But it seems… the scariest things in the world… were living people all along."**

In the meantime, everyone was contemplating the ending to the play.

" **I… I can't be satisfied with this ending…"** Satoshi mumbled.

" **Is it alright… to end like this?"** Naomi wondered.

" **I don't quite understand this…"** Yuka whispered in a confused voice.

" **It was all an entanglement of blind love in the end, huh?"** Ayumi surmised.

" **Indeed,"** Packer replied. **"It was certainly funny in some parts, but the ending, depending on who you are, really hits you right in the feels. And the words Sachiko said just then, about people being the scariest things in the world… that statement, unfortunately, couldn't be more true. I've been a Knight of the Covenant for seven years, and I've experienced firsthand how scary and dangerous humankind can be."**

" **Hmmm… I'm not sure about the ending myself…"** Seiko admitted.

Sachiko stood silently for several moments.

' _Why is Sachiko all quiet?'_ Yoshiki thought. _'Wait, is she possibly trying to tell us that this is the end? Wait… maybe she's waiting for an applause from the crowd…'_ He eyeballed the crowd as best as he could, and he could see the conflicting looks on their faces. _'Everyone is figuring out how to react to this…'_

Just then, Yoshikazu stood up and began clapping enthusiastically, while simultaneously crying his eyes out. It was obvious he thought it was beautiful.

' _The beast in the audience… is applauding while bawling his eyes out,'_ Yoshiki thought in disbelief. _'What in the flying blue monkey fuck…?'_

Packer then stood up and also began clapping.

" **I'll admit, that was very entertaining to watch,"** Packer said. **"A bit weird in certain spots, but overall, I loved it."**

Then, everybody else began to stand up and clap as well.

" **C-Come on, guys!"** Satoshi said. **"Clap! Give them an applause!"**

" **Y-Yeah,"** Naomi agreed. **"Come on, everyone, clap for them!"**

" **Thank you. Thank you, everybody!"** Sachiko beamed.

' _How much longer do I have to stay like this?'_ Yoshiki thought. _'Well, we're at the end anyway, so it really shouldn't be much longer…'_

* * *

" _ **Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes the play 'Sacchan, the Supernatural Detective'. Please be sure you have all of your belongings with you before you exit the premises. Thank you very much!"**_

With Mayu's narration, the curtains finally close.

" **I'm deeply displeased!"** Naho shouted.

Naho stood up from her audience seat and walks toward the stage, an angry look on her face.

" **Naho…"** Sachiko murmured.

" **This story is far too absurd!"** Naho yelled. **"There are absolute rules when it comes to mystery stories made by greats like Knox and Van Dyne, and yet, not only did you ignore them, but what the heck was that all about?!"**

" **N-Naho-Chan, calm down a little…"** Sayaka replied, but was only met with a death glare by her friend.

" **Keep quiet, Sayaka!"** Naho shouted. Sayaka felt her heart crack a little at Naho's harsh words. Sachiko gazed up at Naho with a smug look on her face.

" **What is it? Are you gonna complain about my acting?"** Sachiko inquired. **"You want to die that badly?"**

At that, Naho got into a fighting pose.

" **Hmph, I've always wanted to finish it off with the likes of you!"** she shouted. **"I'll convict you! Be prepared!"**

Sachiko let a manic laugh escape her diaphragm.

" **You're just an incompetent excuse for a supernatural psychic!"** Sachiko declared.

Everybody stood back to not get trapped in the conflict between Naho and Sachiko.

" **It's gonna be an epic battle of a supernatural psychic versus an evil spirit!"** Ran shouted.

Sachiko laughed as she began to glow a deep purple. Naho growled as she did the same.

" **I'll bitch slap you to Hell for those words!"** Naho roared. But just as the two sides were about to clash…

" _ **ICESLASH!"**_

Suddenly, a wall of ice materialized in between the two would-be combatants, preventing any kind of confrontation. Naho and Sachiko looked to where the ice had come from. A trail of the cold element was seen running along the ground, from the ice wall, all the way to the tip of a diamond-bladed sword.

Packer, now decked out in his emerald armor, sighed as he sheathed Shiden.

" **That's enough out of you, Naho,"** Packer said, walking up to the stage. Naho growled at the green-haired Knight.

" **Who the hell are you to get involved in my business?!"** she shouted. Packer jumped up to the stage and got directly in Naho's face, surprising the psychic girl.

" **Who am I?"** Packer snapped, eyes crackling with electricity. **"I'm the guy who's trying to save your scrawny ass from this place, that's who!"** Naho gasped at Packer's words. **"Besides, do you** _ **really**_ **believe you stand a chance against Sachiko, as powerful as she is in this place?"** Naho tilted her head down, her confidence fading as the truth of Packer's words began to sink in. Packer let out a sigh to release the tension. **"Going up against Sachiko at this point will only get yourself killed, so take a chill pill, and relax. You'll live longer, trust me."**

With that, he jumped off the stage and began walking back to his group. Naho let out a sigh of resignation.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

" **Glad that's over,"** Ran sighed.

" **Well, I guess that wraps up Sachiko's play,"** Morishige said.

" **Oh?"** Azusa hummed in confusion. **"I could've sworn that just a little while ago, you said something about not wanting to create anything half-assed or something along those lines."**

" **Once it ends, it's over,"** Morishige replied. **"But, I must admit, I'm glad that I got to enjoy the stress and work put into acting for the first time in a while."**

" **Hm… is that so?"** Azusa inquired.

" **Yes, indeed,"** Morishige answered.

" **Shige-nii!"** Mayu beamed, running up to him. **"I was so happy to see your acting after such a long time!"**

" **I-Is that so?"** Morishige asked, a small smile appearing on his face. **"Thank you, Mayu."**

" **Huh? Why are you thanking me?"** Mayu asked.

" **I was able to remember the joys of acting thanks to you pushing my back,"** Morishige explained. **"If I was just winging it by myself not doing anything, then I would've turned out to be a terrible person. If only I could continue to do acting with Mayu forever…"**

A blush rose to Mayu's cheeks at Morishige's words.

" **Shige-nii…"** she murmured.

The Musashigawa girls let out a cute moan at the scene in front of them.

" **So romantic!"** Nana cooed.

" **I'm so happy for you, Mayu-san!"** Chihaya said with a smile.

" **Geez, you two should just hurry up and go out together already,"** Nari laughed.

" **Hey!"** Morishige complained. **"Stop saying weird things! I'm just…"**

" **Pure love,"** Azusa giggled.

" **So precious,"** Ran cooed.

Morishige crossed his arms and let out annoyed grunt. Mayu giggled in response.

" **Well, I guess that's the end of Sachiko's birthday,"** Morishige said. **"Let's get out of this auditorium while she's busy over there."**

" **Yeah,"** Mayu agreed.

But just as everyone turned to walk toward the door…

" **Wait, everybody!"** Sachiko called out. Everyone turned back, apprehension on their faces.

" **Eh?"** Mayu grunted.

" **Oh, crap,"** Morishige moaned.

Sachiko giggled as she summoned everyone back toward the stage.

" **That play was a lot of fun!"** Sachiko beamed. **"But now, it's time to get down to serious business, because after I get everything set up…"** Sachiko glanced over at Packer. **"…your second Deadly Challenge is up next, Packer-kun."**

Everyone let out a gasp. It was time to find out if Packer had what it takes to complete Sachiko's challenge. Letting a small smile grace his lips, he nodded at Sachiko.

" **I'm ready,"** he declared. Sachiko let out a playful giggle.

" **Alrighty, then!"** she yelled. **"By my decree… let the games begin!"**

What would Sachiko's second challenge be?

* * *

Meanwhile, Yoshiki was still lying down on the floor, still unable to move.

' _For the love of God, how long do I have to stay like this?!'_ Yoshiki thought with annoyance as the screen fades to black.


End file.
